Kicked Out
by VampireFluteChick
Summary: Hey guys, this is my first fic so...enjoy! As Lisanna's return leads to Lucy's dismissal from Team NatsuMor, the guild soon realizes who she really was. They always thought of her as the weak, damsel in distress type, but now that she's on her own they all see the shining star she truly is. So, as time moves forward what lays in the future for Lucy and the guild? I do not own FT
1. It Starts With a Thing Like This

Lucy walked into the guild quietly. She had just returned from her fifth S-Class mission, and wasn't even tired. For the past three months she had been becoming stronger. Now she could summon all of her spirits at once (though that rarely proved to be efficient because they would fight with each other) and had found the other half of her magical personality. Each wizard had a set of magic that intertwined with who they were as a person, there for called their magic personality. Normally, a person only unlocked most of their personality and not all. However, you had a lot of free time to do these kinds of things when you've been kicked out of your team.

It had been a week since Lisanna's return, and already Lucy had been forgotten. The whole guild was so busy welcoming the thought-to-be-dead mage back that they had completely forgotten about Lucy. At first she was shocked, and began waiting for the time when the party would end and things would go back to normal. However, after the first month she realized they weren't, so she began going on solo missions. She had a rent to pay after all. It was during that month that she began going on S-Class missions. This way she had an excuse to be away from the guild for long amounts of time and earn a nice, full, reward. After Lucy's return from her third S-Class mission she was greeted with stares around the guild hall. All of them focused on her and Team Natsu who stood formally in front of her.

"Hey guys, what's up?" She asked as calmly as possible. However she was screaming and fighting on the inside to uphold her smooth demeanor. Natsu broke off from the team and approached her. Then, with a voice lacking any kind emotion, he spoke.

"Lucy, we want you off the team."

Bang! The words stabbed Lucy's heart violently. However, she remained calm and sophisticated on the outside.

"And why, may I ask, has the team desired this?" She asked using her old Hearfillia graces.

"Because, you're weak and bringing the team down. Every time we go on a mission you are always the one lacking in power and strength." Erza answered in a matter-of-fact tone. Lucy began to feel the stinging in the back of her eyes as tears threatened to make an unwelcomed appearance. She would be damned if she was going to cry in front of her old team though.

"Besides, I thought you knew that you were only a replacement for Lisanna." Natsu began again. He stretched his arm out, beckoning for Lisanna to join him. She shuffled out of the crowed awkwardly. As she reached Natsu he put his arm affectionately around her. "So now that she's back, you are off the team." He finished. At first Lucy didn't feel anything, but then came the rage and hatred. She felt a sudden urge to rip the mage in front of her head off.

_What the hell? Where did that come from?_ She thought as the thoughts vanished as fast as they had come. She looked Natsu strait in the eye, and put on her best doll smile she could manage.

"But of course. Thank you for allowing me to partake in the apparently horrid adventures with Team Natsu." She replied with a small curtsy, her Heartfillia instincts taking control. Then, with a noticeably different, real, smile she faced the shocked Lisanna. "And I wish you the best of luck girl! I know you'll love this team!" Then she gave the surprised white haired mage a large hug. Unsure of what to do, Lisanna just stood there at first. But then, as she realized Lucy meant everything she had said with the best heart, she returned the hug with a loving friendship squeeze.

"Thank you so much Lucy!" She whispered so only Lucy could hear.

"No problem!" Lucy replied, equally as quiet and happy. After the long hug, they two girls pulled away. Natsu grabbed Lisanna's hand and looked at Lucy dully.

"You are now officially out of Team Natsu." He spoke coldly. Lucy couldn't help but chuckle inside. Was he _trying _to make her upset? Well if that was his little game, she was going to win. So, with another one of her award winning smiled she lowered into a deep curtsy before Natsu.

"Thank you." Then, as she stood up and witnessed all of the shocked faces she let out a deep, short chuckle and walked over to Laxus who was guarding the stairs to the second level. That level was where the S-Class and higher ranking missions were pinned, and strictly forbidden for every mage other than S-Class mages. She approached Laxus and spoke easily.

"I request access to the second level."

Laxus looked down at her with a board expression. "Show me your mark of approval from gramps."

Turning around so he could see her back, Lucy moved her hair to the side so Laxus could see the mark of approval on the back of her neck. It was a simple black circle with a black S inside it. Erza had the same one on the back of her neck as well.

"Cool. You can go up then." Laxus replied simply, and then he moved out of her way so she could climb the stairs into the shadows of the second floor. The entire guild stared at her until she could no longer be seen, and then some. Finally, it seemed that the flood gates were opened as hushed whispers broke out among the guild. They were things like,

"Did you see how calmly she reacted to Natsu?"

"I never knew Lucy was on S-Class level!"

"She was so nice to Lisanna just now? How can she be that strong!?"

Team Natsu just stood there in their places, shocked at Lucy's actions. After two minutes of this hushed commotion it suddenly died down as Lucy walked down the stairs and into the light. She was clutching a tattered piece of paper with dark, illegible scribbles stained on its surface. Her sophisticated smile was gone and instead replaced with a blank, emotionless expression. Her eyes glistened with threatening tears as she walked over to a very surprised Mira.

"I would like to embark on this mission please." Lucy asked in a polite, quiet voice, all of her earlier bravo gone and replaced with a fragile innocence.

"O-of course Lu-Chan." Mira replied with a stutter. Then, taking the paper softly out of Lucy's shaking hand she un-wrinkled it the best she could in order to see what Lucy had picked out. Her eyes widened in shock.

"Lucy! This quest is to destroy a whole dark guild in the northern forest!" She gasped. The guild watched in shock as tears began rolling down Mira's cheeks. She threw the paper down onto the bar and grasped Lucy's fragile shoulders. Her head was bent down so her hair cast shadows over her eyes, hiding them. "Lucy, you can die on this dangerous quest! DIE! Do you understand me?!" Mira continued shouting in rage. When Lucy didn't look up she began to cry even harder. "You don't have to do this! Please don't do this!" Finally, Lucy lifted her head slowly out of the shadows so you could see tears glistening off her pale cheeks.

"Please Mira." Was all she said before she hung her head again. Now almost every one of Lucy's friends were watching her with tear filled eyes. Being as how kind Lucy was to everyone, all of her friends consisted of almost everyone in the guild. Pulling her hands away from Lucy, Mira sobbed as she stamped the back of the mission violently and chucked at Lucy.

"If you die doing this mission, I will never forgive you!" She screeched with sadness induced anger.

Lucy just stood there as the paper bounced off her head. Then, she slowly bent down and picked it up off the ground. Then, without picking her head up, she gave a small 'thank you' to Mira, and walked out of the guild.

Three weeks after leaving for the quest

Lucy proudly walked through the guild hall. All eyes turned to her as her presence became known. At first no one could believe their eyes as they saw how much Lucy had changed. Three weeks ago she walked out of the guild a fragile, crying, weak girl. Now, returning three weeks later, she was a powerful force of nature not to be trifled with. Her once sweet smile was now replaced with a cocky smirk. Her hair was still done up in its normal style, but now it was pulled back with a deep blue pony tail with an elegant design printed on it. Her once green tank-top was replaced with a deep, blood red one, allowing everyone to see all of her scars and bruises from her first S-Class mission. Her skirt was replaced with tough formfitting denim jeans. A long, elegant blade gleamed against her thigh as it rested in its sheath. Her black boots were nearly the same, only this new version was lacking a heel and went up to mid shin. They were laced up with thick, white laces. Her keys and whip still rested on her hip, but along with those were new additions. As was previously stated she had a new blade strapped to her free thigh, an elegant bow and a quiver of arrows was strapped across her back. The bow itself was a glistening white as pure as she was. It had the same elegant design carved into it as her pony- tail did. Her arrows upon closer inspection could be found without tips. Another thing you would only be able to see with a very practice eye at finding these sort of things were the thing blades tucked into the bottom of her thick rubber soles. However, the most peculiar thing about her new outfit was the elegant sword hilt bouncing against her knife on a silver chain. It was just a simple black hilt with, once again, the same design as her bow and hair tie.

As the guild took this all in, she strode proudly into the guild hall with her semi-sweet grin. She marched strait up to the bar and sat down in her normal seat in front of Mira. Everyone was relieved to see that her voice and personality were the same, maybe a little tougher, but still as friendly as they last heard.

"Hi Mira! How were things like while I was gone?!" She asked brightly. Mira just stared at her in shock. Finally, she regained her composure and replied, her shocked expression still on her face.

"Things were great I guess. Levy and her team finally picked a mission and came back four days ago. Elfman and Evergreen began dating; Laxus and Freed earned some cash to pay for all the damage done by Team Natsu..." All of sudden Mira clamped her mouth shut as she realized what she had said. She looked at Lucy to see how she would react. Lucy just looked curiously at her.

"Really? What did they do? And why didn't _they _pay for it?" Lucy asked, not the slightest bit concerned that she was talking about the team that had so rudely kicked her out. The whole guild went quiet. Finally, Mira gave a reply. It wasn't one Lucy had been expecting.

"It might be best if you ask them yourself."

Lucy, shocked, hopped off her stool and stood up so everyone could see how armed she was. Hey eyes scanned the tables and walls as she searched for Team Natsu. Finally finding them in one of the center tables, she walked up to them. Almost everyone was watching her, just like the last time she had been in the hall. Little did any of them know that that would be the last time they paid Lucy any kind attention.

"Well?" Lucy asked leaning against the table. None of its occupants looked up at her.

"Well what?" Natsu snarled back, still messing with the fire in his hands.

"Well what happened?" Lucy replied evenly, even though she was angered by his snotty attitude.

"Why is it any of your business slut?" Grey hissed, playing with the ice in his own hands. Lucy just stared at him as she tried to figure out why he had insulted her. It wasn't that troubling to her. After all, she had just come back from a deadly S-Class mission as was still recovering from some serious injuries. However, and insult was an insult, and she was not going to take such rude behavior.

"Strong words coming from a stripper." Lucy replied coldly. His head snapped up and he stared at her.

"What did you just say to me, you little witch!?" He demanded, standing up and slamming the table in anger.

"I think you heard me Grey, or are you going deaf?" Lucy replied evenly as she straightened up. Without her heels, she only came to Grey's chin height wise, but that didn't make her presence any less threatening.

"What do you think you're doing insulting me like that?" Grey growled, closing the space between him and her, making it so that they were almost chest to chest.

"I'm just asking a simple question is all." Lucy answered, not backing down. Before her mission, she wouldn't even think about challenging Grey like this. But now she was a whole lot stronger. She had discovered her whole other half of her magical personality. She had found herself and now felt whole. Sure, she felt great with just her spirits, but she was never fully comfortable fighting because she felt like she was missing something. Now with that giant hole filled, she was a force not to be messed with who could outdo Team Natsu as a whole without breaking a sweat. Too bad for Grey that she hadn't had time to share this information with her old team before she was insulted.

"Grey! That's enough!" Erza barked as she stood up. Grey continued to stare into Lucy's eyes, hatred clear in his. _Fine, guess we have to finish this staring contest quickly_ Lucy smirked in her head. She began to tap into her magical energy that she was fighting to keep hidden, and forced it into her eyes. Suddenly Grey jumped back as he threw a blade of ice at Lucy's head. She caught it easily.

"Her eyes! They just turned black and gold!" He stammered as he tripped onto the table. Lucy then pulled her magical energy back and pushed it deeper into herself. She looked at Grey and smiled with concern.

"Sorry, I guess I just wanted to show off my new magical energy a little. Are you okay?" She asked as she reached out with concern. Her skin was suddenly scorched as Natsu snatched her wrist.

"Stay away from him witch!" He snarled. She ripped her arm back and examined it. He had just given her a third degree burn. Her eyes widened as she saw what her "friend" had just done. All of a sudden she was aware of a small white haired mage grasping her arm in concern.

"Natsu! What do you think you're doing!?" Erza cried with outrage. Lisanna just had time to look up into Lucy's eyes before Natsu yanked her away. The message was clear in them though. She had missed Lucy and was deeply sorry for something.

"What was that for Natsu?" Lucy asked with shock. It wasn't that it didn't hurt, but she was just more shocked than feeling pain.

"For being a wretched witch." Natsu hissed with hatred in his voice.

Lucy had no reply to that. She looked down at her wrist, and then focused all of her magical energy on the burn. Slowly and painfully it began to heal until it was just a small scar. However, it left Lucy feeling tired. She had only gotten this immense power a few weeks ago, so she was still getting used to controlling it. The guild all stared in shock as this happened. Not even Erza had enough Magical Energy to heal already made wounds. She could use it like armor, but never to heal. Finally, she looked up at Natsu.

"You never answered my question." Lucy reminded. At this Grey smirked.

"You really want to know slut? Well, fine. In truth we burnt your apartment to the ground." Grey snarled. Lucy just stared at him his utter horror.

"W-what?" She finally whimpered. Grey just kept smirking at her.

"What's the matter Lucy, going deaf?" He mocked.

"I am SO sorry Lucy! I couldn't stop them!" Lisanna yelled with sadness. Lucy looked up at Lisanna with warm eyes.

"I know you did Lisanna, and I thank you so much." She spoke sweetly. Then she looked at the rest of her "friends"

"Why in the world did you burn down my house?" Lucy seethed though her teeth. Her hold on her magical energy was seriously slipping as she felt it threaten to spill out of her in waves.

"To show the whole guild we were serious about cutting our ties with you. You are the laughing stalk of the guild, and we're sick of your name bringing us down." Erza replied sharply. Lucy just stood there, and then slowly began to smile, and then began to chuckle.

"So, this is what you do to someone who let you come over uninvited, unannounced? This is what you do to someone who bonded the team together in the first place!?" Lucy snared with rage. The team just glared back at her. "Well then I'm happy you destroyed the place because I don't want to have to deal with the fact that I have been betrayed every time I step foot in my own house!" Still the team glared. Realizing how bad she must have looked at that moment, Lucy regained her composure and continued asking questions.

"That still doesn't answer my second of question though. Why was Laxus and Freed the ones who had to earn the money to pay for the damages?" Lucy continued.

"Because, Master expelled them from doing missions for a month after they did that." Levy's voice chirped. Lucy turned to her left and smiled at Levy.

"Thanks Levy. I don't think they were going to tell me." Lucy replied warmly and non-offensively. Then, she sighed and faced her old team again. "I can tell that we aren't friends, so I won't treat you like ones. Well, accept for Lisanna." She continued, smiling warmly at Lisanna. "So I'll get out of your hair." And with that she left the guild in order to find a new place to live.

*Back to the present*

As Lucy took her normal seat she softly tapped on the bars wood. Mira turned around and sighed as she poured a shot of fire whisky into a shot glass. She placed the tiny thing in front of Lucy, along with the bottle knowing how Lucy drank. Lucy downed the shot, frowned, and then slowly began to sip from the bottle. She sighed with delight. It wasn't the fact that she was an alcoholic, she was anything but, she just liked the taste of the beverage and the burning sensation it caused as it slid down her throat. On her last mission she had taken out a powerful dark guild, and had already given half of the reward money to the guild fund so they could pay for all the damages Team Natsu inflicted on their missions. They were now limited to two missions a month because of all the destruction they were causing. Even with Lucy's large donations, there still wouldn't be enough money to cover damages from more than two missions. But even with these large donations, Lucy was easily the richest girl in Fairy Tail. Really, it was kind of ridiculous. Even though she was paying for a mile of forest in all directions of her house (her house was located in a clearing in the nearby forest) and for food, fun things to do, weapons, and new furniture she still had a lot of money left. So she stashed it away in a secret compartment in her house. If the guild ever needed any help, she would be ready with that large collection.

People think that just because she was kicked out of Team Natsu that she hated Fairy Tail. But in all reality it was the complete opposite. Now that she was on her own and thriving, she wanted to protect Fairy Tail with every ounce of her being.

She took another swig from her bottle when someone slammed their fist against the polished wood of the bar next to Lucy's seat.

"Well looky here, isn't it the famous Lucy Hearfillia sucking on a bottle." The voice mocked. People in the guild began to turn their attention to the new threat. Lucy set the bottle down and turned her head to see she was staring into the burning eyes of the one and only fire-dragon slayer.

"What do you want Natsu?" Lucy sighed. She really wasn't in the mood to argue with him today.

"I want to know why the hell you're so strong!" He hissed back. Lucy just looked at him and shrugged.

"I don't know. I was born with a gift and I trained my ass off in order to use it correctly." She replied evenly. She could tell that wasn't the answer he was looking for.

"Yah? Well I think you're just faking it!" He hissed as he yanked her hair, making her fall off her stool and onto the floor. She sat there for a moment, and then grinned evilly as a thought came to her mind. She stood up slowly, and stared into his eyes with a sort of crazed expression. This was the face she wore when she was about to destroy her pray. This was the face that said she was thirsty for blood and death.

"Yeah, well then why don't we fight? Me vs. Team Natsu?" Lucy posed. Now everyone in the guild was listening, and the rest of team Natsu gathered around the hot-headed mage. They all agreed up to the challenge. Even Lisanna had a grim but determined look on her face.

"Deal." Natsu smirked, then they made their way outside to the arena.

In the arena

When challenges were being carried through, they were always done in the magical area. This is because there is an enchantment over the arena so that anyone who was watching the fight would be in no danger of being hit with a deadly spell. All of Fairy Tail was here today, no one wanting to miss what was surly going to be the best fight Fairy Tail has ever seen. In the pit where the competitors were, Team Natsu stood in a line at one end of the dirt floor, and Lucy stood at the other end. As Levy sat down to watch as her friends were about to fight, she couldn't help but feel that something big was going to happen today.

Lucy

Lucy stood at her end of the field, gazing lazily at her opponents. This was going to be so easy. As the crowd quieted down she began walking to middle of the field as she saw Team Natsu do the same. The rules were simple. Begin when the gong sounds and don't stop till someone cries mercy or dies. As she reached the middle of the field, she stared at each one of her competitors. She heard the countdown as they gong was being ready to be rung. Five. No turning back. Four. She was ready for this. Three. This is what she wanted. Two. She'd be damned if she lost. She was going to win.

One.

The gong rang out in the air and immediately Erza began changing into a set of armor. However, Lucy wasn't really in the mood to fight that day, so she didn't even let Erza finish her transformation when she grabbed her by the hair and threw her into the concrete wall to her right that lined the stadium. Grey started at her in shock, then he grabbed hold of himself.

"Ice Make:" He began, but Lucy smirked and took on the same stance he was doing.

"Ice Make: Dragon!" She cried, and suddenly a gigantic dragon made of ice swooped down on Grey and swallowed him whole. Knowing that would keep him busy for a while, she faced Lisanna who had given herself tiger claws. Lucy dashed forward so fast you couldn't track he with her eyes and popped in front of her.

"Do I really need to hit you?" She asked a very shocked Lisanna. Smiling grimly, Lisanna responded.

"Try to go easy on me okay?" She asked. Lucy nodded, and then flicked her in-between the eyes. Lisanna went down like a the buildings Natsu destroyed. Speaking of Natsu, Lucy saw him charging at her at full speed. He quickly raised his fists to his mouth as he prepared to do his famous dragon roar. Lucy did the same. Was he going to be surprised at what was about to happen.

"Fire Dragon: Roar!" Natsu and Lucy both screamed together, and then there was a blinding light as red flames irrupted from Natsu's mouth, and bright blue ones from Lucy's. The flames crashed together in a heated inferno, but it was clear that Lucy was stronger than Natsu and so her flames destroyed his own and sent him flying into the walls as well. Lucy heard Erza let out a long cry and she charged Lucy with a sword. Because Lucy had interrupted Erza when she was trying to equip armor, she could no longer equip until an hour when the damage was healed. So, she was left with the sword she had carried into the arena. Turning to face the charging Erza, Lucy quickly snapped the sword hilt off her key chain and got ready for Erza's attack. This was going to be fun.

Right as Erza swung down, supposedly to chop Lucy's head open, a thick, and razor sharp blade of darkness filled the hilt so that Lucy now had a sword of Darkness. Erza gasped as Lucy smirked, and easily cut through Erza's metal blade. With Erza now on the ground in order to save her life, Lucy quickly re-attached the hilt back into her chain and kicked Erza in the ribs. Hard. She could feel her bones crack as Lucy's foot made impact. Then, Lucy picked Erza up by her hair and punched her in the face, officially finishing her for the day. Two down, two to go.

Grey was now free from Lucy's ice dragon, and was charging at Lucy. He had an ice bow in his hands, and was getting ready to fire a shot. The bow made a plucking sound as he shot the arrow, a pathetically slow thing to Lucy, and missed her be a mile. Quicker than light she had her bow off her back and drew four arrows. She loaded them into the bow, and as she shot them all at once the tips became blazing points of blue fire. Grey, to slow to dodge the arrows, was pinned against the wall. Lucy ran up to him, gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and then punched him in the gut. She felt his bones crack as he slumped against the wall, being held up by the amazingly strong arrows. Only one more to go.

Lucy heard more than saw Natsu coming, but he was so slow his pathetic attack was easy to dodge. Using his momentum against him, she tripped him and made him crash into the nearly dead Grey. She walked up to him slowly, then, setting her fist on fire, she gave him a final punch in the face which finished him for good. All in all, the fight had lasted for two minutes, and Lucy had won without a scratch. She then turned and faced the majority of the crowd.

"Mages of Fairy Tail, now you have seen how much I have matured, and now I think you need to see how much your ignoring me had actually hurt. You thought that I was a week, sniveling child. Once upon time you were right, but things have changed, and you need to realize that. So, on that note, I am giving the leader of team Natsu a choice. You can either accept defeat, or you can accept death." Lucy ordered as her hand lit up with black and golden flames. "It's your choice."

Natsu, who was now wide awake and staring into the Celestial Mages eyes with a burning mixture of fear and hatred, spat up at her.

"I would rather die than admit defeat. You of all people should know that, Lucy Heartfilia." He hissed. Then, he gave her his signature smirk. "Besides, you wouldn't have the guts to kill me. You talk big game, can even back it up a little, but I know your still the week, emotional girl I brought back with me."

Everyone was staring into the arena now. Lucy stood there for a second, then smiled. It wasn't a cruel smile, but one of love.

"You're right Natsu. I haven't changed much on the inside. I've only truly learned who that person is. I have learned that I am emotional, and I do care too much for others. But I have also learned that there is a fine line between being kind, and being a doormat." She finished with a determined look. Then, it turned into her famous, evil smirk. "So, I ask you once again. Will you accept defeat, or will you accept death?" She asked.

"And once again, I give you my answer." Natsu smirked back at her, truly looking like he had lost all sanity. "Please, kill me."

Lucy nodded, and raised her flaming fist into the air, preparing to deliver the final blow.

"NO!"


	2. Like Sisters

**Hey Guys, so I forgot to do the disclaimer in the last chapter, so here it is now! **

**I do not own Fairy Tail, Hiro Mashima does. **

**Now that that is out of the way, I would like to address some concern about the total OOCness in this piece. It's meant to be that way, don't worry. As I was writing this I realized that some (if not all characters) were out of character. That's the way it supposed to be. We have never actually seen how Fairy Tail would act in a situation like this, so I found the idea fun to totally change things up into a possibility of how the characters could act. But I hope that soon I can get the chaos under control within the next chapters. Thanks for the constructive criticism** **JcL107! =D Thanks for reading this and enjoy Chapter Two: Like Sisters **

Chapter 2. Like Sisters

_Recap: _

_ "So, I ask you once again. Do you accept defeat, or will you accept death?" She asked. _

_ "And once again I give you my answer." Natsu smirked back at her, truly looking like he had lost all sanity. "Please, kill me." _

_ "NO!" _

Like Sisters

The scream came from behind Lucy, so she quickly turned around. She and Natsu both knew that he didn't have the strength or magical energy to surprise attack her. So, they both turned their attention the fear stuck voice that rung out behind them. They were surprised, but not for the reason you may think, to see that it was Lisanna.

"No he doesn't! We, as team Natsu accept defeat!" She cried again as she ran to them. Blowing past Lucy like she wasn't the one who had knocked her our seconds ago, and threw herself in front of Natsu.

"Please don't kill him! Please Lucy, I beg you!"

"Lisanna, what are you doing here? I thought I had you out a long time ago." Lucy sighed. She was tired of this whole thing and just wanted to go home.

"You did, but I woke just in time to here Natsu's answer." Lisanna replied, tears in her eyes. Lucy just stared hardly at her, and then smiled softly. She couldn't hate Lisanna no matter how hard she had wanted to in the beginning.

"Fine, you win. I won't kill this pink haired idiot, but I expect you to keep him under control. After all, if it weren't for him, none of this would have happened." Lucy replied, giving a distasteful look down at Natsu. He shot one right back at her. However, Lisanna threw her arms around the blond and was crying even harder.

"Oh thank you so much Lucy! Thank you so, so much!" Lisanna whispered in her ear. Lucy smiled again, and threw her arms around Lisanna in a tight hug.

"I could never stay mad at you, huh?" Lucy whispered back, tears forming in her own eyes.

"No, you couldn't." Lisanna agreed. Then they stood there like that for what felt like a life time, then suddenly it all ended.

"You really haven't changed have you Luce?" Natsu grinned with an evil smile as he grabbed Lucy's hair and shoved Lisanna away from her. The take-over mage fell to the ground with a loud and harsh thud. Natsu held Lucy so that she was hovering inches above the ground. Her face contorted into one of pain and rage as she realized what had happened. Natsu had attacked her while she and Lisanna were hugging right after Lucy had agreed not to kill the pathetic whelp.

"You would use your own girlfriend as a distraction so you could attack me?" She spat at Natsu. His grip tightened on her hair, sending jolts of pain through her scalp. She winced. Sure, she could take some of the world's strongest spells head on, but that didn't mean she was tough all around. A scalp is a hard thing to condition, and she was too much like herself to chop her hair off, so she just accepted the risk that she might get her hair pulled in battle.

"You pathetic monster." She continued. That's when she felt the heat at the base of her throat, and knew that with one more word she would soon be seeing her mother in heaven.

"I wouldn't be spitting out insults right now if I where you." He replied with an almost seductive hiss.

"Natsu! What in Fairy Tail's goof name are you doing!?" Lisanna's high pitched voice squeaked. Natsu looked away from Lucy to his girlfriend, while Lucy was stuck looking into the bright sun. She did, however, listen closely. Lisanna never yelled at anyone, so this was going to be good.

"What does it look like luv? I'm about to show this witch why she no longer is in team Fairy Tail, and why such team is going to win this fight." Natsu replied with soft eyes, then he turned his attention back onto Lucy and intensified the flames in his hand. Lucy couldn't help but scream as the soft skin on her neck started to turn red and burn.

"So you mean this is what it takes to be in team Natsu?!" Lisanna screeched as she stalked up to Natsu. "To kill a friend? To maim a loved one?" Lisanna asked in outrage. Natsu didn't answer. Instead the flames in his hand sputtered, and then went out. Then, with distaste, he dropped the now bleeding blond mage to the ground and kicked her in the ribs.

"Lucy!" Lisanna screamed as she ran to Lucy's aid. The Celestial mage coughed as she tried to clear the blood from her throat. It wasn't like her throat was cut open or anything, but even a nick could lead to perfuse bleeding.

"Come on, I'm taking you to Wendy." Lisanna spoke soothingly as she tried to lift Lucy off the ground. Natsu just stared at them with a blank expression.

"N-no. I'm not losing this even if it kills me." Lucy whispered the best she could. Then, she shakily got to her feet, and stared Natsu strait in the eyes. "As for you, I was going to spare you. I could have killed you without a second's hesitation, but my love for my best friend Lisanna stopped me. But I'm sick of this. I'm sick of showing mercy to pathetic rats like you."

Then, with a deep breath, she closed her eyes and began to pull the magical energy deep inside her to the surface. She could feel it bubbling to the surface in an angry wave of rage and craving for revenge. She knew her eyes were each turning their respective colors. Her left one gold, and her right one black. Until now, no one would know what it meant when they did that, or what other things would change about her as she allowed her magical energy to rise to the surface. As if on cue, she felt her shoulder blades begin to sting, and then tear apart painfully. The transformation following soon after was worth it though as two golden wings with black accents sprouted from her back, along with long claws on her dainty fingers. Opening her eyes, she cut off the increase of magical power flowing to the top and kept it at a constant level. She could actually continue the transformation, but she wanted to save that for when she was fighting a real opponent. Opening her eyes, she saw Natsu staring at her with wide eyes, much like the guild must have been doing. However, her full attention on was on the fire dragon slayer in front of her. She felt the burning in the back of her throat as the magical beam of light and dark mingled in the back of her throat, about to break free. In an angelic voice, she yelled with conviction and pride,

"Roar of the elemental dragon: Lights Destruction!" Then, she dropped her jaw and let the magic blast out of her. A blinding black light shot out of her mouth, struck the dazed Natsu, and exploded into a gold inferno. As the beam ended, Lucy collapsed onto the ground. She was still able to see Natsu though, and boy was she glad that she could. When the dust had settled, you could see a massive crater in the middle of the arena, with Natsu at the very bottom of the hole. He was completely out and bleeding profusely from his hands. No doubt he tried to block the blast with a roar of his own, and there was also no doubt that he failed. He was still breathing though, and that was good enough for Lucy. She had never meant to kill him, but she sure wanted him to feel some sort of pain. Finally the fight was over and the anouncers voice echoed throughout the stands.

"Ladies and gentlemen we have our winner! Lucy Heartfilia of Fairy Tail, ex member of Team Natsu!"

Lucy smiled with pride and joy and let the blackness swell around her.

At the guild

Immediately after the fight ended both teams were rushed to the guild for medical treatment. Natsu was in the worst condition, so Wendy started on him first. It was going to take some time to heal him. While he was being healed by Wendy, Grey, Lucy, Erza, and Lisanna were all being tended to. Lisanna was in very good condition though. She only had a few cuts and bruises from being tossed around so much, but she didn't even have a concussion from when Lucy knocked her out. Grey was in pretty good shape as well. He, however, did have a concussion and had some nasty cuts to deal with on his arm when he tried to block Lucy's Ice Dragon. Her arrows didn't leave a scratch on him though. Next up was Erza, who wasn't looking to good. She would be okay of course, but she had bigger things to deal with. Lucy's kick to her ribs had caused most of them to snap in half, and the punch to the face had left a serious bruise right in the middle of her face and a nasty concussion. She wasn't going to be able to go on any S-Class missions soon. In fact, she was going to need to give up questing for a while. Lucy was by far the worse out of them. Her throat had a small but major gash and still bleeding profusely. The skin around it was scorched so it was going to be a very painful thing to heal, even if it was Wendy who was doing the healing. Then the rest of her body was very sick. She had suppressed her magical energy for too long and it was burning up her insides. Soon enough she would be able to do this like Erza and Jellal, but right now her body was still getting used to the deadly power. She had a few cuts and bruises, but those were from the S-Class missions she went on. So, the biggest thing they (the medics) were her inner body and throat.

Mira walked into hospital ward of the guild and saw Erza and Grey laying on their respective beds, both of them asleep and people buzzed around them like a hive of bees. She walked over and sat in a chain in between the beds so she could visit with both of them. A few beds down and on the opposite side was Lucy. For a second Mirajane felt happiness rise in her. Good, that blond delve deserved to be in pain right not after all she had done to the guild. But then she felt guilt and sadness explode in her. What exactly has Lucy done to the guild anyway? She helps pay damage fees, she always so nice to those who talk to her (which weren't very any people) and she was a brave, strong woman who the little kids in the guild looked up to. She could think of at least one person who secretly looked up to the blond mage.

Flashback

"Mira, why is it no one talks to Lucy anymore?" Wendy asked in her sweet, quriouse tone. Mira turned to her and smiled as she rested her arms on the bar.

"Well, she did horrible things to the guild Wendy, that's why. That's also the reason Team Natsu kicked her off their team. Good thing they did too." Mira replied without any hint of feeling guilty for the way she just insulted Lucy.

"Really?" Wendy asked, her eyes wide in shock.

"Really." Mira replied with a smile. She was so glad she could help this child see the monster that Lucy was. Suddenly, Wendy looked confused.

"What did she do?" She asked in a whisper. Mira's smile grew as she opened her mouth to dive into the story, but then realized there was no story for her to tell.

"Well, umm…you see..uhhh…" She stammered, trying to think of the reason they all hated Lucy.

"I'm asking because I know she helps out with damage fees, and she's always nice to me when I walk by her." Wendy continued, now smiling. "I remember this one day when I was walking home from the guild when I was crying about how Romeo was ignoring me. I was walking on the stone path next to the river when all of a sudden I tripped and fell in. I panicked and began to flail around. I don't know how to swim very well, and I knew I was going to drown. My head went below the water and all I can remember was seeing this figure swimming towards me, and then grabbing my hand. The next thing I knew I was on a soft couch by a warm fire. I sat up and saw Lucy in the other room, the kitchen, making something that smelt really good." Wendy began her tail, Mira now listening intently.

"I had heard all the rumors about her, and how a person needed to avoid her at all costs, but she just looked so…fragile. She wasn't wearing any of her weapons like she normally does around the guild, and she was wearing black sweat pants with a pink t-shirt. She looked over at me and I dove behind the couch. She frowned, and then walked up to me and squatted down so we were the same height.

"How are you doing Wendy? You had a pretty nasty fall today and you almost drowned." She told me in a concerned voice. It had been forever since I had heard her speak, and I was too caught up in the richness of its loving tones to answer. I guess she thought I was afraid of her, which I was.

"Look, I know all the rumors that are going around about me, and I can honestly say that they aren't true. But I also know I can't make you believe anything you don't want to, so you're free to go whenever you like." Lucy sighed sadly as she stood up. "But you're also welcome to stay for dinner." She added quickly as she walked back into the kitchen to stir a big pot."

"Well what did you do?" Mira asked, eager to know. Wendy smiled slyly.

"I stayed for dinner."

Mira's jaw dropped. "You what!? Do you know how dangerous that was!? Did she hurt you? If she hurt you I'm going to personally kill her!" Mira raged. Wendy quickly shushed her.

"Of course she didn't hurt me. In fact, she was like a sister to me. We ate at her small table and then talked for hours. I talked about things happening in the guild because no one tells her anything, and she told me about her S-Class missions. They sound really dangerous. Then she told me she would walk me home, and the whole way there she told me about everything she does for the guild and how people still ignore and hate her." Wendy concluded. Then she sighed and looked down.

"You know, Lucy has been the closest thing to family I have had since coming to the guild, and now I want to be just like her. I want to become strong and loving. I want to find nice friends who really care about me. But most of all, I want to make her proud. As she walked me home she told me she didn't have much to live for. I want to be her reason for living." Wendy declared. Mira just stood there, eyes popping out of her head and jaw on the floor. Wendy smiled at her, thanked her for the tea she was sipping, and walked out of the guild, mumbling something about going to find Lucy. Finally recovering, Mira vowed she was going to get revenge on Lucy for corrupting Wendy. Even if it made the little bluenett cry.

Present:

As Mira thought about that day, she felt something change in side her. She had failed to give an explanation for why Lucy was such a horrible person, and why they all hated her so much. Looking around, she was she was the only one in the room now. All the medics have left having done all they could for the rest of Team Natsu and Lucy. Well, almost everyone. Lisanna sat in a chair next to Lucy's bed, smiling as she spoke. This too puzzled the white haired mage. You would have thought that Lucy would hate Lisanna the most out of everyone in the guild, but those two were like sisters. They laughed, talked, occasionally fought, and then made up again like family. Mira began to realize that she herself had been becoming more distant to her younger sister. When had that happened? Caught up in her thoughts, she couldn't stand it anymore. Wishing Grey and Erza the best recovery, she walked over to her dear sister and the now awake blond mage.

"Lisanna, will you please go and see if Wendy is almost done healing Natsu?" She asked politely, completely ignoring Lucy.

"Sure thing sis!" Lisanna chirped back, gave Lucy a quick hug, and then exited the room. Lucy coughed, and then focused her attention onto Mira who was now glaring down at her.

"So, you've some to finish me off?" She croaked. With her throat scorched and bleeding, it hurt like no other to talk. But if she was going to die, then she was sure as hell going to leave an impression on her killer. Seeing as she was unable to move all she had was her voice.

"No, I'm not here to kill you." Mira sighed as she slumped into the chair Lisanna was sitting in. Lucy looked at her in confusion.

"Why?" She asked, now feeling drained and tired as well. Man, today was not her day.

"Well, for one, Lisanna and Wendy would never forgive me. And two, you've done nothing to deserve death." Mira muttered quietly.

"W-what did y-you say?" Lucy stuttered in shock. Mira sighed, and then shook her head.

"I'm saying that I was wrong about you. All this time I have convinced myself that you had done something wrong, and that I needed to hate you for the rest of my life. But now I see that I am the one who deserves to be hated. I am the one who just automatically thought you were a horrible person just because Team Natsu was being horrible to you."

Lucy sniffled. Why did emotional things make her cry so easily? "What changed your mind?" She whispered hoarsely. Mira looked up from the floor, and gave her one of her old, warm smiles.

"Seeing you with Lisanna, you bring this sort of light out of her that I never could. Even before we all thought she was dead I had never seen her as happy as she is with you. You are the sister she deserves. The one she never had." Mira choked out, tears filling her own eyes.

"You have no idea how much I've missed talking to you." Lucy spoke through tears of her own. It felt so good to have one of her old friends talking, smiling, and being nice to her again. She had almost forgotten what it was like to be treated with love and respect.

"And you have no idea how much it hurt me in the beginning to see you change. Or, so I thought. But you really have remained the same on the inside, even with this new power of yours that could wipe out team Natsu in five minutes. Now I see that this whole time not once you have said something horrible about Team Natsu, and the only reason you fought with them today was to prove your worth." Mira smiled. A loud creak echoed through the big room as Wendy walked in. She walked right part Grey and Erza and strait to Lucy.

"Well, looks like the doctor is here to fix you all up. Maybe when you get out of here we can go out for tea and catch up on things? Maybe ask Wendy and Lisanna if they want to join?" Mira asked Lucy, truly wanting to start over with their forgotten and abandoned friendship. Lucy smiled her soft smile that gave hope to even thought who had no reason to live.

"I would like that very much." She whispered. Mira nodded, and then left the room as Wendy approached the bed.

"How are you feeling?" She asked in her soft, small voice. Her sun dress was soaked in dried blood, no doubt from healing Natsu.

Lucy opened her mouth to speak when her words were interrupted by a chain of painful coughs. "H-how is h-he?" Lucy sputtered as she finished her coughing. Wendy, now looking at her with tears in her eyes, just nodded and gave a small smile.

"He'll be okay. His hands took on most of the blast but some of the darkness was able to hit him in his right eye. It's going to be alright but it took a lot of time and effort to heal him. Gosh Lucy, I had no idea that kind of power even existed. He's lucky to be alive." Wendy replied in her same small voice. Lucy just nodded, and then began to drift off into sleep.

"Wendy, when I wake up, do you promise you'll have tea with Lisanna, Mira and I?" She asked as the darkness caressed her.

"I wouldn't miss it for the world." Wendy replied, then she placed her hands on Lucy's throat and began the long process of healing her.


	3. Trust Your Blood

**Hey guys, I really hope you are liking the story so far. I, personally, am open for any thoughts or comments on where this could go. This story is really fun for me to write because both of us (Readers and myself) can be surprised at what's going on! =P I know how its going to end, but other than that I'm just writing down anything that comes to mind! Thanks for reading and please, comment on anything and everything! **

**I still don't own Fairy Tail!**

Chapter 3: Trust your blood.

_Recap:_

"_Wendy, when I wake up, do you promise you'll have tea with Lisanna, Mira and I?" She asked as the darkness caressed her. _

_ "I wouldn't miss it for the world." Wendy replied, then she placed her hands on Lucy's throat and began the long process of healing her._

Present, the next day.

Lucy woke to a loud popping sound. Sitting up in her hospital bed, she rubbed the sleep from her eyes and looked around. She was the only one in the room. Wendy must have healed Erza and Grey after she had fallen asleep. Her hands flew to her throat and she sighed happily as she felt her smooth, undamaged skin. Well, almost undamaged. She felt a small scar from where Natsu's flames had burnt her to the point of leaving a gash.

"What is his deal?!" Lucy hissed quietly to herself. In this moment of quietness everything Natsu had done to her in the past weeks came crashing down on her, and boy did it hurt. It hit her just how much his personality towards her had changed. Was this what he was like to his enemies? Did he even consider her and enemy? Probing the scar on her throat the answer was clear. Yes, she was most defiantly his enemy, and was probably going to stay that way for the rest of her life. Still, what had she done that was so horrible!? She gave everything she had to Fairy Tail, and still the guild shunned her like she had killed ten thousand people. Shaking her head in a vain attempt to shake away the confusing thoughts, Lucy got out of her small bed and looked down at her cloths. She was still in what she had worn into the arena. The outfit was nasty as it was covered in blood (some of it not even hers) cuts, rips, and charred in some places. But it would have to do until she got back to her house to change. Looking around the hospital once more, she saw all of her weapons on a near-by table. Walking over to retrieve them, she was shocked at how easily and painlessly she moved. Wendy truly was amazing.

As she glided over to the table, she armed herself. Giving herself a once-over in the bathroom mirror, she fixed her matted and red stained hair as best she could, and made her way to the doors leading into the guild hall. As her hands grasped the brass door handle, she couldn't help but feel…nervous? Was that right? Since when did she give a damn about what these people thought of her? They already hated her, so what more could they do to hurt her? But now, as she stood there, Lucy realized that yes, there were worse things they could do to her. They could forgive her.

"But, that's what you've wanted since they started ignoring and hating you, right?" She asked herself quietly. Another loud popping sound was heard, pulling her out of her complicated thoughts. "Now's not the time for these stupid questions." She hissed to herself, and then with a deep breath, she swung the doors open and strode into the guild hall.

As she entered the hall, she saw that the popping sounds she had heard were a very beat up Gray and Natsu chucking furniture at each other. Like always, no one noticed Lucy as she made her way through the laughing crowd to the doors. Right as she was about to make her escape a voice stopped her.

"Lucy, where are you going?"

Spotted, Lucy froze. Then, turning around she saw that Makarov was looking straight at her.

"I…um…was going home to change." Lucy squeaked out. After Lucy became the plague in Fairy Tail's eyes, the old man was one of the only people who still talked to her. She loved him like a father, and that would never change.

He looked away, and began to frown. What was going on? He was almost always happy.

"Lucy, there's an issue that needs to be addressed. So, please come and sit down." He continued as he pointed to a chair in front of him. He was standing on the bar, so the table was near the front of the room. Lucy noticed Team Natsu sitting there as well. Nodding, Lucy made her way to the table and sat down across from Erza who looked up at her briefly, and then casted her gaze back to the floor.

"Lucy, I have had a request for your removal from Fairy Tail on the grounds of destruction, attempted homicide, and the use of dark magic. As you know, none of these things are tolerated and call for dismissal from the guild." Makarov said, clearly trying to hold back tears. Around the room Lucy could hear a few gasp and the quick sniffle of someone who was trying not to cry or trying to stop their already flowing tears. Lucy felt her own eyes begin to water as she looked up at her most loved adult in shock.

"B-but Fairy Tail is my home." She whispered as the tears began to stream down her cheeks.

"P-please hand me your hand so I may r-remove your mark." Makarov continued, tears falling from his own eyes. After a short pause Lucy did as she was told, and handed her hand to him. He took it gently, and looked into her eyes.

"T-this is going t-to hurt." He said in a whisper so only she could here. She nodded and braced herself for what was going to come. The old man reached behind him and pulled out a long, elegant knife with magical runes carved in the blade and hilt.

"I, master of Fairy Tail, here by decree that you, Lucy Heartfilia, are no longer part of this guild." Makarov said in a shaky but strong voice, and then he slashed the back of Lucy's hand twice, creating an X over her pink mark. Lucy jerked her hand back in pain and shock as a stinging began to burn at her skin, visibly eating away at her mark until all that remained was a bloody X as proof of what had happened.

"Lucy Heartfilia, you are no longer a part of Fairy Tail and must leave within the next two days." Makarov said through his tears. Lucy, still clutching her hand, only nodded numbly and stood up. She began to make her way to the doors, her soul struck through like lightning does a tree, killing every inch of it and leaving a charred, black stump. As she began to walk she was almost tackled as a pair of small arms hugged her tightly.

"Lucy, you can't go!" Wendy cried desperately. Smiling sadly, Lucy hugged her back and then pulled away. She knelt down so she was the same height as the young dragon slayer.

"Shhh, don't cry Wendy. Everything's fine. It's not like it's the end of the world." Lucy soothed, only hearing the lies inside the sentence. Everything was not fine, and it was the end of the world. At least the end of hers.

"B-but what about hanging out and going on a mission together like we wanted to?" Wendy cried out again, tears streaming down her eyes in waterfalls.

"One day I promise I'll be back and we can do all those things like we planned. I promise." Lucy replied, giving the crying child her famous and long forgotten smile. "But right now I have to do this. Please understand Wendy." Lucy continued, tears now rolling off her cheeks by the bucket full.

"How do you expect me to understand that the closest thing I have to family is suddenly leaving me!?" Wendy screamed in frustration, throwing her arms tightly around the blond mages neck. "You're my sister Lucy. How can I let you go?" Lucy hugged the bluenett tightly, trying to think of a way to put what she was feeling into words. She finally found what she was looking for.

"Wendy, look at me." She said softly as she gently pulled out of the hug. "You have to accept this because I feel in my blood that its right." Lucy spoke softly but with pride. It was true, everything in her being was telling her this is what she needed to do. Why, she had no idea, but she had a feeling she was soon going to find out soon.

Wendy sniffed as she tried to stop crying (she only managed to reduce the waterfall of tears into a small trickle) and nodded. "Fine, I'll accept this but only because you feel like it's the right thing to do." Wendy replied, shaking from the sadness and tears. Lucy hugged her once more, this time not letting go until almost a full two minutes had passed.

"Thank you Wendy. I will be back someday, and you and I can reunite as a family." Lucy whispered in the child's ear so only she could hear the love filled words. Wendy nodded, and then pulled out from the hug. Her white exceed had been uncharacteristically quiet during this whole thing as she just stood near Wendy. Finally, she walked up and took Wendy's hand.

"It's time for Lucy to say good-by to the rest of the guild now." She said softly. Wendy nodded but looked up at Lucy with uncertainty. Lucy smiled and nodded.

"Go. Trust me, you don't want to be here for what's going to happen next." Lucy said quietly, and evil smirk appearing on her lips. Wendy nodded, and regained her composure. She walked proudly out of the guild. Lucy beamed as she saw this. Wendy was going to be one heck of a woman someday. Then her smile fell flat off her face as a painful realization hit Lucy. We wasn't going to be there to see Wendy bloom into the strong, happy young woman she knew she would be.

She slowly got off her knees, and looked around. She was shocked to see the number of people sobbing quietly or looking hurt. It was just like the day she was kicked out of Team Natsu, the day that changed everything. Suddenly feeling at peace with herself, she turned to see Team Natsu, and Noticed the Lisanna was not present. Slightly saddened even more at this, she still walked back to the table and smiled at the three mages.

"You know, I really should be thanking you guys." She started off, shocking everyone in the room. The team, however, just stared at the floor or into space. "I know you guys don't like me, just looking at my outfit proves it." Lucy continued with a sad smile. A few chuckles could be heard echoing slightly in the hall. "But you guys kicking me out has set something into motion that I think is going to change me, and maybe even the rest of the world. So, I thank you for everything you have done, and hope you all have long, happy lives." Lucy concluded. Erza looked up at her, and Lucy couldn't help but feel happy as she saw a single tear glide down the red head's cheek.

"Now, for the rest of the guild members." Lucy announced loudly as she turned her back on her old team and began to speak to the guild as a whole. "I am so blessed to have met all of you and hope you all have joy filled lives." She declared with a bigger smile. But then it fell as she sighed. "But I have to admit that these last few months have been hell for me, and you're to blame. But this is a new start for me! I am no longer Lucy Heartfilia of Fairy Tail! You killed that girl a long time ago! No, now I am a strong independent woman who you should fear every second of every day! I am a girl who knows in her blood that me leaving is right, and therefor I am now Lucy Trustblood!" Lucy announced in a proud, strong voice. She had been waiting a long time to say these words, and now with nothing to lose, she found it easy to speak her mind and leave her mark on the guild. A big, bloody one.

"You no longer know who I am or anything about me, and that itself is something you should be very afraid of. So, I leave you with these thoughts as I leave this place." Lucy declared as she made her way to the big doors leading out of the guild. She stopped as she rested her bloody hand on the door handle, and smiled to herself.

"One little piece of advice. I may be gone, but that doesn't mean I've left."

And with that she threw open the guild doors and walked into the bright sun, listening in delight at the sudden commotion her words had caused.

"I guess you can add, "Threatening" to my list of reasons why I'm out of this guild." She chuckled to herself.

At Lucy's House

Not even a bit tired from her long walk to her house in the woods, she opened her French doors and stepped into her cozy place of refuge from the world. Stomping on the welcome mat to get all the dust of her boots (and some dried flecks of blood) she found it useless and took them off. They were defiantly going to need to be washed before she left in the morning. As she put them against the wall, she crossed her soft, plush carpet and walked into her living room. Siting on her couch in front of her gorgeous fire place, she sighed as all the tension drained out of her. So, she was leaving Fairy Tail in the morning. The words had yet to really gain any meaning in her head. Shaking the thoughts away, she noticed a flash of blue from the corner of her eye in the kitchen. Getting up slowly, she walked into the kitchen and gasped in surprise at what was on her table.

It was an amazing blue tea-set with the same elegant design as was on almost everything she owned. There were four teacups out and placed on their little plates in front of all four chairs that rested around the small table. A big, elegant teapot was in the middle of the table along with a few small deserts and sugar cubes stacked in a pile nicely. At each spot was a little card, most likely saying who would sit there. Lucy didn't need to read them to figure out who had done this. This lovely surprise was obviously the work of Wendy, Mira, and Lisanna.

Circling the table, new tears sprung into Lucy's eyes as she took it all in. Finally deciding she was ready to read the cards, she picked up the one nearest to her. She was surprised to see that not only was there a name, but also a little message. She began to read.

_Dear Lucy,_

_Even though we haven't know each other long, you are my best friend and loving sister who was always there for me no matter what. I think you deserve to know that Team Natsu were the ones who requested your dismissal from Fairy Tail. But I guess you probably already knew that. I have officially taken a break from the team for now, and am going on a mission with Mira and Wendy. I hope I see you again soon, and if not, always know that I love you with all of my heart._

_Your Sister,_

_Lisanna_

Lucy became of aware of the tears sliding down her cheeks as one landed on Lisanna's delicate script, smudging the word, "guess". Gently setting the card back down where it was, Lucy moved onto the next one, proud that she and Lisanna would always remain family. She moved to her right and picked up the next card.

Dear Lucy,

I am so sorry for everything that has happened to you! I hope you know that you deserve none of this! But sadly, we can't change how the world works, so here I am writing this to you. By the time you read this, Lisanna, Mira, and I will be on a train heading on a mission. So I write, please don't forget about us. We love you and will miss you every second of every day. You are my family, so please stay who you are. Please don't change as you go out on your own. You're perfect as is right now. At least you are to me. Please visit as soon as possible. I love you Lucy.

Your Sister,

Wendy

Lucy set the card down as the tears began to roll faster off her cheeks. _How many tears can one girl cry in just a single day?! _Lucy asked herself, and smiled at the answer. _A whole lot! _Then, with the smile still on her face, she moved to the last letter. Picking it up, she saw her hands were shaking. With sadness or joy she didn't know. She began to read.

_Lucy,_

_I know I haven't been the sister you deserve in the past few months. In fact, I don't even know if I have the right to be called your sister. But I hope to God that I do, and that you won't forget me. Don't forget all those times we laughed together, and don't forget all those times when we cried together. We have fought rough battles together, and have always been there for each other. At least you have with me. Now its my turn to tell you how much I still have your back , and how it will stay that way forever. You are part of this family of sisters. Never forget that. We all love you, and wish you the best as you prove to Fairy Tail that you are stronger than their attempts to break you. Stay strong and keep fighting. For all of us. We believe in you._

_With Love,_

_Your Sister Mirajane_

Setting the final card down, Lucy sat down in the next chair, knowing it was meant for her. As she sat, she picked up her teacup and began reaching for the teapot when her eye spied something inside the porcelain cup. Retracting her hand from its previous quest for the teapot, she reached inside and grasped a small slip of paper with her slender fingers. She pulled the small thing out, and began to read the small, delicate writing inscribed on it.

_We promised you we would have tea when you woke up, and here is our attempt at filing that promise. We love you Lucy – Your 3 sisters. _

Lucy let out a small, happy giggle, and then poured herself a cup of tea. "I knew this was the right thing to do." She finally said to herself. Then, after finishing her tea, she set her teacup down, and took out a piece of paper and wrote what she needed to do. After she was finished, she put the small card in front of her own seat. Then, she walked out of the kitchen and up the flight of stairs leading to the second floor and into her bedroom. She quickly changed into simple pajamas, crawled into bed, and fell asleep quickly. The card rested at her spot, filling the hole left by the three sisters.

_~ "Wendy, Lisanna, and Mira. I vow I will never forget this love and kindness you have shared with me, and will fight every day of my life until we will be together. On my life, I swear to this. - Lucy Trustblood." ~_


	4. Am I Still Sane?

**Hey guys, I hope you are still enjoying the story so far and if not will leave a comment so I can fix stuff! For now it's looking like Lucy isn't going to end up with anyone, but that can change depending on what you guys want! I'll go for almost anything! (Note, I will turn down Sting x Lucy and Rouge x Lucy though, and Levy WILL end up with Gajeel if it works out in the story!) **

**In this chapter Lucy is arguing with herself a lot, so the **_**italics**_** will mostly be her inner voice/thought. It may get kind of weird and I'm sorry for any confusion. I didn't know how else to parts of this chapter though. Also, Luck Town is a place I made up so I could make it fir the story. I'll try not to make up new things, like characters or anything big like that, but some things I'll have to. So, I hope you enjoy this next chapter anyway and ones to come! If there are any mistakes, please tell me because I'm writing this at about 11 at night after a very long day. But any way, thanks for reading! **

**I still don't own Fairy Tail! **

Chapter 4 – Am I Still Sane?

_Recap: _

_We promised you we would have tea when you woke up, and here is our attempt at filing that promise. We love you – Your 3 sisters. _

_Lucy let out a small, happy giggle, and then poured herself a cup of tea. "I knew this was the right thing to do." She finally said to herself. Then, setting her teacup down, she took out a piece of paper and wrote what she needed to do. After she was finished, she put the small sheet of paper in front of her own seat. Then, she walked out of the kitchen and up the flight of stairs leading to the second floor and into her bedroom. She quickly changed into simple pajamas, crawled into bed, and fell asleep quickly. _

"_Wendy, Lisanna, and Mira. I vow I will never forget this love and kindness you have shared with me, and will fight every day of my life until we will be together. On my life, I swear to this, Lucy Trustblood." ~_

Chapter 4: Am I Still Sane?

Lucy woke to the loud sound of nothing. Like every morning. It was always the same. Just her, the walls, and her pillow. But today the silence felt…different. How quiet could feel different Lucy had no idea. She was still trying to figure out how silence was loud. In the end she had just come to the conclusion that it just was, and that was that. However, today it was louder than usual as it spoke of something big that was going to happen. Stretching the sleep out of her tired body, Lucy groggily hopped out of bed and nearly tripped as she hopped into her shower. After she was out and fully dressed she walked down her stairs and into her kitchen. Seeing that the Tea set was still out, she ate her bowl of cereal at the breakfast bar. Then, as she began doing the little dishes she had, she began to think about everything that had happened last night. It hit her while she was scrubbing a fork clean that she was no longer apart of Fairy Tail. The serious realization settled in, and she almost dropped the piece of silver ware. However, she soon changed the subject in her mind. The new topic wasn't much better. For some reason as she tried to run away from the thought that she would have to leave the guild by the end of tomorrow she kept coming back to the thought that she had had when she was about to leave the hospital ward.

She was afraid of their forgiveness. That in itself didn't make any sense. After all, she hadn't done anything wrong, and yet it was them forgiving her. What was that all about?

"_You know exactly what that's all about Lucy." _Lucy's inner thoughts told her in a rough, no nonsense voice.

"_You're afraid that you were the one that did something wrong. That you deserved their hatred. You were questioning yourself." _

"No I wasn't. I know I did nothing wrong." Lucy mumbled to herself.

"_Then why did you accept the fact that __they __would be forgiving __you __when you were standing there that day? You didn't even question the fact that you did nothing wrong. You just accepted it. What does that tell you?" _

"That doesn't matter! I was just tired and not up for arguing with myself." She mumbled to the bowl she was scrubbing.

"_Come on Lucy, when are you going to admit it?"_

"Admit what?"

"_That you may be part of the problem?" _

"I don't have anything to admit! I haven't done anything wrong!"

"_Then why do you keep arguing with yourself about it?" _

"W-well…I…uhh…."

"_You know deep down that this can't all be blamed on Fairy Tail. You know that you were weak, and you knew that you were dragging the team down. You even wrote about it in your novel. The main character is you Lucy, when are you going to realize that?" _

"I am nothing like her! I wrote her to be weak and confused! Besides, what does my novel have to do with any of this!?"

"_Please. Where do you think your ideas come from Lucy? She is you, but there is more than that. You knew all along that you were weak, and that you were running a high risk of being kicked off the team." _

"Well I still don't see what that has to do with anything!"

"_Are you really that deep in denial Lucy?" _Her inner voice continued to question. _"You were afraid that you were the one who was being the rude, evil one that day, and you know that to be true." _

"No I do not!"

"_Yes you do! You're thinking it right now!" _

"S-stop. None of this was my fault.

"_You were the one who walked away from Mira that day when you ran away on that S-Class mission. You were the one who made her angry! You were the one who caused her pain and misery while you were away! You're the one who angered Team Natsu to the point that you burnt your house down!"_

"I said stop it!"

"_This is all your fault! You made it look like you didn't care about the guild anymore! You were the one who started this whole thing! You are the one to blame for you're being kicked out of the guild! THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" _

"I SAID STOP IT!"

A large blast of dark and gold exploded from Lucy's mouth as she screamed in pain. The blast threw her onto the ground, causing something to pop. Opening her tear filled eyes, she looked up at her kitchen ceiling and saw as it began to crumble into flakes around her. She was right. She was afraid that she was the one who had really caused all this pain and misery, and now that she was faced with the thoughts she couldn't take it. She had gotten so wrapped up in her internal argument that she had completely let her magical energy explode inside her, resulting in the un-intentional damage done to her beautiful kitchen. However, in all this, all Lucy could think of was one thing.

"The tea set." She whispered hoarsely. Then, forcing herself to get up, she snapped her head over to her table. Or at least to the charred black spot that used to be where her table was.

"No." She cried quietly. She stumbled over to see if any of the tea set had escaped the blast. She only found a small, sharp fragment of a teacup. Everything was reduced to ashes or nothingness. Scooping up the small shard of porcelain, she clutched it to her chest and began to cry right there in the middle of the wreckage. So, she had finally confronted herself about one of the things that had been bothering her since the first moment she joined Team Natsu. If only she had shown the guild that she still loved them even if she was hurt at the moment instead of shutting them out. No wonder they treated her like they did. Hell, if she was in their position she would have done the same thing. Finally accepting this, Lucy sat in the ashes of her once dining room table and cried until she ran out of tears.

As she finished her sniffling Lucy stepped out of the ashes and shook the black soot off of her pink pajamas. You know what? She was sick of it. Sick of feeling like she was never good enough. Yes, Lucy Heartfilia was weak, but she was also long gone. No, now Lucy was Lucy Trustblood, a strong, independent young woman who could face her problems head on and accept them, and then fix them. Yes, she was part of this problem, so she was also going to be part of the solution. Still clutching the tiny fragment of the teacup, she left the mess behind as she walked up to her room and over to her bathroom. Picking up a small piece of cloth Lucy wrapped the shard delicately into its white, cushioned clutches. Then, she set it on her bedside table as she drug her suitcase out from under her bed.

Putting it on her bed so she could pack things, Lucy began to pull the little amount of clothing she had (most of it had burnt down in her old apartment) after her closet was empty and her suitcase half full, she opened the first drawer in her dresser and emptied all the socks, underwear (she gave up the frilly stuff. To uncomfortable when she was trying to behead a dark guild leader) and bra's (she did keep some of her old styles…) she moved onto the second drawer that held things like her bikini's and odd ball pieces of clothing she had collected on her missions. The last two drawers were just full of old junk she wasn't going to take with her. So, after emptying her dresser her suitcase was three-fourths full. She sighed, and moved onto her bathroom. Why did she own so much stuff and such a little suit case.

"_Because you never thought you were going to be kicked out of the guild." _

"Shut up right now. I'm so not in the mood for another one of our conversations!" Lucy snapped at her thoughts. This time it seemed to work since she didn't get a reply. Wait…what?

Shaking away the weirdness Lucy walked into her bathroom and opened her medicine cabinet. Seeing it jam-packed with stuff, she sighed as she began to take it all out and shove it into her suit case. She had only shoved in her cleanser and moisturizer and make up when she saw her suit case already about to explode, she about over did it when she shoved her shampoo, conditioner, and body wash inside as well. She could tell that she had reached the bags limit when she had to sit on it in order for it to close.

"Well, looks like I have to carry everything else in my purse and backpack." Lucy sighed as she ran down the stairs and to her coat closet in the living room. Swinging the doors open, she snatched the big, blue hiking backpack and her umbrella. Then she ran back to her room. Why she ran, she had no idea. Just felt like the thing to do.

As she threw both items onto her bed next to her suit case, she looked around her room one final time and saw that she had packed everything she wanted. Well, everything but her teacup shard. But that she was going to keep in her pocket at all times. So, picking the blue bag up again, she walked down the stairs and into her living room. She took down the few pictures she had and put then gently into her bag. Then, moving onto her fireplace she shoved the logs out of the pit and brushed the soot and ashes away. Then, with a gently hand, she lifted a loose tile and peered inside. It was stuffed full of cash, her novel, and a few pens. Scooping all of it out, she shoved it into the ugly bag. Then, sliding the tile back into place and putting the wood back, she walked into the kitchen. Opening her pantry, she took out a bag of chips and a small box of chocolates. She left everything else. Moving onto the fridge she packed three bottles of water. The first two to drink, and the other to freeze and play with on the train ride to where ever she was going. She was no longer having issues accepting she was leaving tonight. No, it seemed that after her huge mental argument she was now able to accept things how they were. And right now she was leaving Fairy Tail for what could be the rest of her life.

After she finished packing, she took a few stacks of hundreds out of the blue bag and put them in her pink and black purse. Satisfied with her packing, she left her bag on the breakfast bar and headed into the next room. The armory.

Inside this room was so much medal that it would make Gajeel cry. Swords, axes, a mace or two, knives. You name it, she has it. However, most of them were things she had and never would use, so she just picked out a few things. Metal plated gloved without fingers, three more knives that she could hide inside her cloths, a string of more knives she could line her jacket with, a pair of steal toed boots that were actually kind of cute, an extra bow with a set of two dozen arrows (half with tips and half without) and then a few poisend darts. She already had her keys and whip at her him, and her boy and sword hilt were now just a normal part of her outfit. But now she decked herself out in the items listed above so that by the end of it you couldn't give her a hug without being impaled six times all in different places.

"_Why are you traveling so heavily armed!? You're acting like Erza!" _

"Am not! I just want to be prepared…"

"_Prepared for what!? The zombie apocalypse!?" _

"Just shut up already."

Wait, did she just tell herself to shut up? This whole thing was making her loose her mind. After she finished arming herself she walked out of the room, and locked the door behind her. There were some seriously deadly things she didn't want anyone to find. She didn't like having them herself. Looking at the clock above her destroyed oven she saw that she had spent three hours packing, and one hour crying. It was now 12 o'clock, and she was already packed and ready to go.

"Well, it looks like I'm ready to go." Lucy spoke quietly. She looked at her house one last time before she sighed heavily, and walked out her front door with her suit case trailing behind her. She was now glad that the S-Class missions she had taken on made her stronger because her stupid backpack must have weight a solid ton with everything she had stuffed in there. Now outside her house, she looked at it one last time, and left it sleeping before she would begin crying. She had done enough of that in the last two days.

At The Train Station. It is now 2:00 p.m.

The station was as busy as ever as Lucy made her way through the thick crowd. Still unsure of where she was going to go, she walked up to the ticket booth and waited in the long line for what must have been half an hour. Finally at the window, she saw a happy woman with green and purple hair smiling at her.

"Hello! And where is it you would like to go today?" She asked brightly. Lucy shrugged.

"Actually, do you have any recommendations?" She asked the nice looking lady. Her smile fell as she assumed an expression showing she was deep in thought.

"Well, I hear Luck Town is a fun place to live." She replied with her smile. Lucy returned it with her own beaming smile, and nodded.

"Then I would like one ticked to Luck Town please!" Lucy chirped happily. The lovely woman nodded, and typed the blond mages request into the ticket manager. Then, after a few seconds, Lucy's ticked printed out of the small end of the machine. Handing the ticked to her, the strange haired woman nodded and cheerfully said goodbye and good luck to the happy mage.

"Thank you! Oh, and good day to you too!" Lucy called as she walked away and over to a nearby bench. Sitting down, she looked at her ticket. Her train would be boarding in ten minutes at gate 8. Smiling down at the sheet of paper, Lucy stood back up and began walking to gate 8.

"_Aren't you even sad that you're leaving?" _her thoughts asked as she walked. Lucy groaned.

"Now is NOT the time to be doing this!" Lucy hissed under her breath.

"_But you didn't even tell them about you're new powers! Geez Lucy, in all those weeks you were working through sorting out your new magical abilities you didn't even tell Makarov everything!"  
_

"Well, it's too late for that now. Besides, I doubt they would believe me any way." Lucy shrugged, her voice growing louder without her noticing.

"_They would have if you showed them. But that's not the real problem in this situation. Did you even tell them where those powers came from? Do you even know yourself?" _

"Well, they know I'm the Elemental Dragon Slayer. But other than that, I don't know how much they know, or that they even want to. And yes I do to know where my magic comes from….I think…." Lucy spoke like she was arguing with a friend. People walking around her were beginning to give her funny looks. Lucy didn't notice though, stuck in an argument with herself.

"_You THINK! Lucy! You being an Elemental Dragon Slayer is good and all, but you know that that doesn't explain why you can use dark and light magic! Elemental powers only cover earth, fire, wind, water (ice) and armor. What does that tell you about yourself?" _

"Nothing at all. It just tells me that I'm….um….abnormal…." Lucy tried to reason with herself.

"_Lucy, this lack of knowledge is dangerous." _Her mind warned her. Lucy couldn't help but agree with herself for once. Wait, what? Never mind, she would sort this out later.

"_I think you need to talk to your dad Lucy. He might know something." _

"No!" Lucy cried. She suddenly clamped her mouth shut as she noticed how loud she had screamed and that she had stopped walking. People walking around her had stopped and began to look at her with looks ranging from concern to pure fear. A group of small children were pointing to her and talking about how she was, "a mad lady" Lucy just shoved her hands into her pockets and picked up her pace. She was at gate 7, and quickly approaching gate 8.

"Fine, I'll send him a letter as soon as we find a new place to live in Luck Town." Lucy concluded under her breath. Finally at gate 8, she saw that they were letting passengers on and quickly hopped in the short line. She wanted her own seat as she got horrible train sick. One of the perks of having Dragon Slaying magic. Oh joy.

As she stepped onto the train and into the tight isle, she couldn't help but feel that this was all in insane, long dream and that she would be waking up anytime soon. However, knowing this vain attempt at making everything seem alright she sighed, and found a lone seat. She shut the door leading into the small booth and locked it quickly. Setting her suitcase on the seat across from her she sat down and put her backpack under her head like a pillow. Sleep, she found, was the best way not to throw her guts up. After a few more minutes of people boarding the train, she finally heard all of the doors on the large engine close as it gave a sudden lurch forward. Lucy suddenly regretted having that bowl of cereal this morning.

A four hour nap later….

Lucy woke as she was thrown onto the floor by the not-so-soft stop of the train. Standing up quickly, she brushed herself off and pulled her squished back-pack on and grabbed her suitcase. Unlatching the lock she eased her door open and stepped out into the crowded middle isle. After a very long wait and a few people bumping into her she was finally off the train and staring wide eyed at what laid in front of her.

"Oh. My. Mavis."

A great city with large buildings and lots of people bustling about sat in front of her. The streets were filled with automobiles of all kinds, and they rushed by the people walking on sidewalks. Lights glowed everywhere (it was now beginning to get dark) and loud honking and vrooming noises rang in the air. Stepping off of the plat form, Lucy imediantly scanned the area looking for a place where she could get help. She was startled by the light tap on her shoulder.

"Excuse me, but you look like you're lost. May I help you?" A young man that looked to be about her age asked with a warm smile. He was in a simple pair of blue jeans with a nice polo shirt with, "Luck Town Visitor Helper." Stitched under this left shoulder.

"Um…uh…yeah. That would be me." Lucy stammered as she looked at him. He had light green hair with blue tips that hid his eyebrows but allowed her to look directly into his bright green eyes. They were the bolder version of his hair.

"Well then I hope I can be of assistance. My name is Jason Darkbright." The boy continued giving her a small but formal bow.

"Oh, um, name is Lucy Hea-Trustblood!" Lucy squeaked out. Oh yes, this boy was defiantly hot, but that wasn't what was causing her to act so weird. She felt like she knew him from somewhere….

"Well then it's nice to meet you Lucy!" He beamed at her. Then grapping her elbow lightly he began pulling her near a bench hadn't noticed till now. After they reached their destination he looked at her again. "So, where would you like to go?" He asked kindly.

"Well, I was hoping I could find a place to live. Nothing too big, and maybe out in the woods…" Lucy replied, suddenly realizing how shady she must sound. She was just glad she wasn't arguing with herself anymore.

The boy nodded, and then began walking again. "I think I know the perfect place. There's this little house in the woods that just went up for sale. It had two floors and is designed for someone who wants to live alone. Sound like something you would like?"

Lucy nodded her head enthusiastically, not trusting her voice. Why did she feel she knew him from somewhere?! She didn't remember his face from anywhere.

"Perfect! I'll call us a cab and we'll be there in about an hour!" Jason smiled as he pulled the shocked blond mage out of the train station and onto one of the crowded sidewalks. Then he waved down what must have been a "cab" and pushed her inside. Then, entering after her he told the driver where they wanted to go and soon they were zooming down the crowded and unfamiliar streets. Oh great. More motion. But the real question was why didn't Lucy protest to his following her to her possible new house? Why did she feel like he would do her no harm? What was up with her lately!?

At the cottage in the woods…. (Yes, I am aware of how creepy this sounds. Don't worry, everything is going to turn out okay!)

"Here we are! The realistate agent will be here soon so you can tell her if you want to buy it or not." Jason said with a smile as he helped the now less shocked Lucy out of the cab. The driver told her the ride would cost thirty jewel, and she quickly fished it out of her purse. Then, turning to Jason she thanked him.

"I'll take it." She nodded as she noticed how isolated it was. They were surrounded by miles of forest, the sounds of the city blocked out by the trees. Lucy already felt at home. Almost as if summoned by her words a nice, black car drove up into the drive way of the house and out stepped a business dressed woman with a brief case.

"Are you the two looking at this fine house?" She asked with a tight smile as she walked up to Jason and Lucy.

"Oh no, it's just me. And I would like to tell you that I'll take it." Lucy replied with a tired smile. Jason and the woman just stared at her with their jaws on the ground.

"W-well, um, alright then." The woman said, clearly surprised at the lack of work she had to do to sell the house. Then, awkwardly opening her brief case she pulled out a single, official looking piece of paper and handed it to Lucy. A few seconds later she fished out a pen and handed that to Lucy as well.

"Please just sign where it indicates on the deed. Oh, and what bank would you like to set you're loan through?" The woman beamed at her with a real smile. As soon as she was finished speaking Lucy had filled out the forms and had the cash in her hands.

"Oh, I would just like to pay the fourteen-thousand jewels up front is that's okay?" She replied, handing the woman the cash and deed. The surprised woman took it with a shake hand, and nodded.

"Um…o-okay then. Thank you for y-your business! I'll have a copy of the deed to you in about two days!" The woman said happily as she gave Lucy a set of keys she pulled out of her pocket. Then she quickly rushed back into her car and sped out of the drive way, leaving Lucy alone with Jason once again.

"Well, umm…I guess I'll just be going then. I hope you enjoy your new house!" Jason stuttered.

"W-wait! Don't you need a, um, cab?" Lucy asked as she turned around to face him. She had been looking at her new house and had forgotten he was there. However, when she turned around, she only saw a thin small of mist.

"Uh…um…okay then…." Lucy stuttered, slightly creped out. Shaking her head, she quickly walked up the stairs leading into her new house and stepped inside. As soon as she was inside she flicked the light switch on and looked around. The door lead into a small front room with a staircase leading up to what was surly the bed room(s). To tired and freaked out to look at the rest of the house, Lucy ran up the stairs and into the master bedroom on the second floor. It was slightly smaller than the one she had been living in at Fairy Tail, but not by much. She had her own bathroom like the other room, and that was the only thing that mattered. Dropping her stuff on the ground, she flopped onto the bare mattress and went over her entire day in her head. She had woken up, cried for an hour after destroying her kitchen, had an argument with herself (one she lost) gotten her ticked to Luck Town, had another argument with herself (she thought she won that one!) earned awkward stares from strangers, boarded the train and took a nap, got off the train, met a weirdly familiar boy she allowed him to take her someplace she had no idea about, bought a house she had no clue about, and was now falling asleep on a bare mattress.

"_Geez. Are you even sane anymore Lucy?" _

"JUST SHUT UP!"


	5. Never Going to Change

**Hey guys! I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate your reviews! They mean the world to me! I am so happy you like the story so far, and I hope you continue to read it! I myself (finally!) know where this is going to go, but I am still open to pairings. However, I noticed in the last chapter that it may have appeared that Lucy will fall in love with Jason, so I'll tell you right now that that is not going to happen. But why not you have to find out in the next few chapters! If you have any theories on what role Jason is going to play in this story, I would love to know about them in the reviews! I may just incorporate some into the story if it fits with my plan ;) so, now I will stop talking and let you read why you came here to read. Chapter 5: Never Going to Change. **

Chapter 5: Never Going to Change.

_Recap: _

_Dropping her stuff on the ground, she flopped onto the bare mattress and went over her entire day in her head. She had woken up, cried for an hour after destroying her kitchen, had an argument with herself (one she lost) gotten her ticked to Luck Town, had another argument with herself (she thought she won that one!) earned awkward stares from strangers, boarded the train and took a nap, got off the train, met a weirdly familiar boy she allowed him to take her someplace she had no idea about, bought a house she had no clue about, and was now falling asleep on a bare mattress. _

"_Geez. Are you even sane anymore Lucy?" _

"_JUST SHUT UP!" _

Present, in the morning…

"Oh Luuuuccccyyyyyy!"

"What! What's going on?!" Lucy cried in surprise. She rolled off her mattress and onto the floor ninja style, and then peered up onto her bed where the voice came from. She sighed when she saw who it was and stood up.

"Jeez, it's only me!" Loke said with a fake pouty face.

"Well then you should know how much I hate it when you wake me up like that!" Lucy replied, flopping down on her stomach and bouncing on the mattress slightly. It was way too early for this crap.

"Come on Lucy. I was just so excited to check out your new place!" Loke continued as he flopped down next to her on the mattress. Lucy looked at the watch on her slim wrist. It read 5:30 a.m. Okay, so maybe it wasn't that early, but still, to a mage who was used to waking up around 7 when she wasn't on a mission it was like she was waking up midnight. She sighed though, knowing that once Loke was excited about something he wouldn't stop bugging you about it until it happened. After all, he was still trying to convince her to marry him.

"Fine, I guess we can look around." She finally said as she rolled onto her side so she could look at the orange haired play boy. He did the same so they were face to face and smile widely.

"Thank you so much Lucy!" He cried with happiness, suddenly pulling her into a bear hug.

"Alright, alright, alright. Come on." Lucy said with a smile as he released her from his hug. Then they both rolled off the bed and walked out of the master bedroom and into the main hall leading to the stairs. The hall also lead to another bathroom and guest room. Happy to see she had more room, she and Loke raced down the stairs, fully awake. As they walked through the living room and into the next room they saw it was the kitchen and dining room. Then, from there it lead into a large room with an amazing fire place. It was no were near the one she had back in Fairy Tail when comparing grandness. This one was by far the most amazing structure Lucy had ever had in her home.

"Whoa! Would you look at that!?" Loke exclaimed in awe as he spotted the grand thing. Lucy just nodded, awestruck as well. Finally regaining control over her senses, she smiled at Loke and went back into the kitchen/dining room. The previous owner had left a wooden table with elegant leaves and vines carved into the legs and sides. It looked like six people could sit at it at one time. Sitting on its surface, Lucy stretched and then picked up her ring of keys. Loke stood in front of her, and watched her without a bit of shame as she did this. Used to it by now, Lucy ignored his perverted stares. What did Aires see in him?!

"Hey Virgo, will you come out?" Lucy called, no longer needing to use the formal call to summon her spirits. Virgo appeared with her usual salute, and then bowed.

"Good morning Princess. I like the new way you call us out. But you may want to stick to the traditional way when calling out Aquarius. You know how she is." Virgo said with her usual salute. Lucy paled slightly. She wasn't even going to call out Aquarius unless it was an emergency. Lord knows how scary the blue mermaid was. "Is it punishment time?" Virgo continued, bringing up her unusual want for punishment. She too was never going to change, and it made Lucy smile.

"No! Please stop saying that! People are going to think I abuse my spirits!" Lucy said with concern. Virgo just nodded, and continued to look at her.

"So, what would you like Princess?" She asked again, giving up on punishment.

"Do you think you could make Loke, you and I pancakes for breakfast?" Lucy asked as she hopped off the table. Virgo nodded, and then pooffed back into the spirit world where she was surly running making enough pancakes to fill even Natsu's bottomless pit. _No, you're not going to think about that pink haired moron._ Lucy ordered herself as she found her smile slipping off her face. In about two minutes of just sitting and waiting Virgo popped back into the dining room with a tray of silver platters. As she sat them down on the table, Lucy carefully lifted the lids off of each of them and inhaled their amazing fragrances. There were eggs, a mountain of toast, millions of pieces of crispy bacon, endless bowls of every type of syrup you could imagine (even some really weird things like jelly flavored butter soaked bananas. Yeah, there was no way Lucy was trying that) standing around the table, the three friends gorged themselves until even the thought of food made them want to hurl. Almost all the food was gone.

"Virgo, I dare say you've outdone yourself with this amazing meal!" Lucy told the pink haired spirit with a smile. Virgo just nodded, and then gathered all the empty plates and trays and pooffed back into the spirit world.

"Well, if it's alright with you I'm going to go back to bed now." Loke said with a cocky smile. Lucy just stared at him with wide eyes. He wasn't even going to stay up with her!?

"Fine, but don't expect me to summon you soon. You know I hate it when you do these kinds of things!" Lucy replied with a huff, and then grabbed his key. "Go ahead and go back to sleep."

"Thank you, Princess." Loke answered in a seductive purr as he bowed in front of Lucy. He grabbed her hand and kissed where her bloody X was. Then in a burst of smoke he was gone, leaving a very red Lucy looking at her hand in wide eyes. Why did he always have this effect on her? She knew she didn't love him...right? **(Seriously, you guys decide!)** Shaking away the thought she walked up the stairs and back into her bed room. Pulling on her jacket she looked at the bare bed and smiled. Shopping was always one of the best things about life.

In a mall near her house.

Stepping out of the cab, she paid the driver and quickly moved out of the way so she wouldn't be eating dust as it drove away quickly. Looking up at the huge sign in front of the entrance to the mall, she smiled happily. It read, "Grand Plaza Mall, Where all Magic is Possible." Nodding in agreement, Lucy pulled out the list she had made on the way there, and read the first thing on it. A full bed set.

As she walked into the nearest furniture store she quickly found a blue and violate bed spread that would go perfect with the curtains she saw as she walked into the store. After purchasing both of these items, she walked to the dresser part of the store. Noticing her interest in a big, wooden one the store clerk asked if she wanted to call a U-Hall to get everything home. Lucy nodded enthusiastically, and then went on with her shopping. By the end of the trip she had bought two couches, six wooden dining room chairs, a full set of dishes, a few picture frames, a few little things to go on the fire place mantle, a big desk, and s plush chair to sit in when she was working on her novel. With enough furniture to furnish her whole house, Lucy paid with her seemingly endless amount of jewels, and then gave the nice cashier lady her address so the U-Hall could deliver her items. Then, deciding to treat herself, Lucy found a nice spa and spent nearly half the day relaxing in its comforting waters. Finally ready to go home, Lucy walked out the entrance to the mall and sat on a nearby bench as she waited for a cab to drive by.

"Excuse me miss, but have you seen my mommy?" A soft voice asked, snapping Lucy out of her day dream. She had been daydreaming about how she was going to arrange everything when she go home. Now out of her daze she saw a small boy with bright orange hair looking at her with wide eyes. Something was oddly familiar about the child though. His eyes were bright green….

"Um…what does she look like?" Lucy finally choked out as she ripped her gaze away from his eyes. She knew she had seen those eyes before, they were the same color as….wait, who was she thinking about again?

"Well, she has bright orange hair like mine, and wears glasses. She said she would be right back, but she still hasn't come out of the stores. It's been an hour and I'm worried. My mommy's never been away for this long." The boy said, tears threatening to spill onto his pale cheeks.

"Well, um, we can go look for her if you want!" Lucy quickly replied. She hated it when people cried. Especially children. The little boy nodded and grabbed her hand. He had a surprisingly firm grip for such a small thing. He began pulling her into the store.

"She wears white tenni-shoes and jeans. Her shirt has a picture of mountains on it." The boy continued to describe her mother. He was about to go on when suddenly a large man with head phones in his ears smashed into them on a bike. All three of them were thrown onto the hard tiles of the ground.  
"Hey! Watch where you're going!" Lucy hissed as she stood up out of the wreckage. She was glad to see that the man's bike was bent out of shape. The man wasn't as pleased.

"Why don't _you _watch where _you're _going!?" He snarled back as he picked up his sad excuse for a bike. "Didn't anyone ever teach you to be aware of your surroundings?"

"Hey! I was trying to keep a kid from crying his eyes out as we were looking for his mom!" Lucy screamed back. There was no way she was going to back down from this man. He had thick black hair and tattoos covering every inch of skin that you could see. He was wearing a black T-Shirt and black jeans. His ears were gaged and he had a thick bar in his eye-brow. He had no magical energy though, and Lucy smirked. He had no idea who he was dealing with.

"What kid!? All I saw was a stupid blond looking around confused and then, BANG! I was on the ground and my bike was totaled." The man smirked back. Lucy frowned. _What? _She then began looking around for the crying little boy. However, there wasn't a trace of him anywhere. Not even a single strand of bright orange hair. There was a strange cloud of mist surrounding Lucy and the thug though. _Why is this so familiar? _Lucy asked herself, stuck in a daze.

"You're just some crazy chick! Get some meds!" The man hissed as she tried to push her, clearly angry that she had been ignoring him. Acting on pure instinct, Lucy grabbed both his arms and threw him into a nearby medal bench.

"Keep your hands off me!" She growled. She was not up for this crap. Where was that little boy?! People were looking at her with wide eyes now, and she suddenly became aware of what she had just done. Trying to keep her cool, she quickly walked out of the mall, praying a cab would be waiting for her. She sighed in relief as she saw a flash of yellow. Waving the cab down, she quickly hopped in and told him the address of the mini-mart near the woods. She would walk to her house. As they took off she couldn't help but feel angry at the little boy. It was her fault she had thrown that man into the bench. It was his fault she felt weird now. She knew she'd seen those eyes before, but she couldn't figure out where. It was like something was preventing her from remembering…

At Lucy's house. Everything is moved in and she is sitting at her new desk, a blank sheet of paper staring accusingly up at her.

Why was it so hard to find the words she wanted?! She never had trouble writing before. But of course that was with her novel. It had been a while since she sent her evil father a letter. With a shaky hand the blond mage picked up her pen, and began to write. She was just going to have to wing it.

_Dear Father,_

No, that was no good. If he saw that heading he wouldn't read it. Lucy sighed, and crumpled the nearly clean sheet of paper into a tight ball and threw it behind her shoulder and into the roaring fire place that crackled as it received the reject. It was now dark outside and she was sitting alone in the big room, trying to write a letter to her "father." But just like the last time she had talked to him, she was tripping on words. Moving onto a new clean sheet of paper, she picked up her pen and started again.

_Jude Heartfilia, _

There, that looked better. The last time Lucy had talked to her father he had been begging her for money, saying that his precious company had been bought out from under his feet. At first she had been angry at him, but when she herd the town he was moving to had a nasty band of robbers attacking a bank she began to worry about him. In the end Lucy had heroically put a stop to the thugs and found out that her father was in no danger. That was also when he said he was going to change, that he was going to give up his love for money. Back then she believed him, but now she knew he was just a liar, willing to do anything for money. Now the Heartfilia business was booming again as mining began to grow in popularity. It allowed people access to rare resources, and allowed her father back into the business world. The Heartfilia name was bigger and richer than before. Lucy sighed. He was never going to change. Continuing with her letter, she began to write again.

_Jude Heartfilia, _

_ It has been a long amount of time since the last time we exchanged words. _

That looked good.

_ I am writing this to you in hopes that you will not take our past exchange into mind when thinking about accepting the offer in this letter. I am currently taking residence in the town of "Luck Town" and would like to meet with you. _

Yup, so far so good.

_ Whether we meet at my residence or at your office that is up to you. However, I ask that you reply with great speed as this meeting is extremely important and will be beneficial to both of us. I am willing to pay any price for this meeting to happen. _

Lucy knew she had to add that last part in or else he wouldn't even think about accepting her offer. He only did things if they increased his bank account. She didn't even know if he was going to accept her invitation any way, but she needed answers A.S.A.P.

_So, with that in mind I urge you to accept my offer, and send a reply as soon as possible including the details for the meeting. _

_Sincerely, _

_Lucy Trustblood _

Reading the letter over and over again, Lucy finally nodded and folded it so the sheet of paper would fit in the envelope she had on hand. Then, with a sigh she grabbed the wax that was melting in a spoon over a hovering flame and poured it on the back of the envelope, sealing it. Then she opened a drawer, and pulled out a small, metal stub with the Heartfilia crest design on one end. Pressing that end onto the quickly cooling wax, she officially sealed the letter closed, the Heartfilia crest staring her in the face. With a shaky hand, Lucy then dig out another tool she would use to send the thing to her father. Pulling her hand out of the drawer she held a slim, metal rod. It resembled a pen, only it wrote with magic energy that the person sending the letter would supply. Only mages could send messages this way, so she knew her father would have the family mage send the reply. Her hands still shaking, she put the tip of the metal rod on the front of the envelope and wrote her father's name in shining purple letters. Then, as she stopped writing, the letters vanished into the paper. It was ready to go.

Setting the applicator down (that's what the rod was called) Lucy picked the envelope up, and then quickly threw it into the fire. Purple mist exploded out of the grand structure as the magic inside the letter took effect. By now the letter was in front of her father who was no doubt sitting at a big, black desk with papers shuffled everywhere. He would be looking at the thing in curiosity, as she didn't have very many business partners who were able to perform magic. Letting out a small sight, Lucy stood up from her desk and pushed her plush chair in. Then, looking at the roaring fire she took a quick breath, and inhaled the flames, plunging her into heavy darkness. Blindly finding her way up to her room, Lucy closed her bedroom door and flicked the lights on. She was fully moved in, so she walked to her new closet and picked out a simple set of pink and blue pajamas. Changing into them quickly, she crawled into her now covered bed and fell into an uneasy sleep, unaware of the blue mist surrounding the letter that had landed on her bed side table.

_My Dearest Lucy, _

_I would love you meet with you. We can meet tomorrow (the 26__th__) and discuss what you say you need to talk with me about. I look forward to your appearance. _

_Your Father, _

_Jude __Heartfilia__._

**Hey Guys! I realize this chapter is short compared to what I normally write, but this was just the chapter to get the ball rolling. Trust me, the next chapter is going to be nice and long with lots of flavor ;) I hope you still enjoyed this chapter even though it may not have been what you were expecting, and I hope you like the chapter to come. Please leave any comments you have in the reviews, and enjoy the rest of the story! I hope my updates are coming fast enough for you guys! Love ya! **

**~VampireFluteChick~**


	6. Easier Said Than Done

**Hey Guys! I hope you are liking the story so far, and continue to do so with the latter chapters. I have received a question concerning the fact that is Lucy will join a new guild, and I can say that no, she is not. Sorry to disappoint some of you, and sorry to possibly destroy anyone's theories on Jason's purpose in this story. Also, if it wasn't clear in the last chapter, Lucy no longer remembers Jason. Another thing is that Lucy's mother may be…a little out of character…. So, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Chapter 6: Easier Said Than Done **

Chapter 6: Easier Said Than Done.

_Recap: _

_She was fully moved in, so she walked to her new closet and picked out a simple set of pink and blue pajamas. Changing into them quickly, she crawled into her now covered bed and fell into an uneasy sleep, unaware of the blue mist surrounding the letter that had landed on her bed side table. _

_My Dearest Lucy, _

_I would love you meet with you. We can meet tomorrow (the 26th) and discuss what you say you need to talk with me about. I look forward to your appearance. _

_Your Father, _

_Jude __Heartfilia__._

Present, its morning.

The sun shone down on the peaceful house in the forest as a certain blond mage slept in. It was a Saturday, and Lucy was going to spend hers in bed. Or, at least that's how she planned to spend this precious day. However, her spirits had other plans.

"Wake up Lucy!" The Gemini twins yelled as they shook the mage awake. Still half asleep, Lucy didn't register the fact that the Gemini twins were posed as Grey, her ex-team mate. Startled, Lucy quickly threw her fist out in a deadly punch. Familiar with their master's way of dealing with surprises, Grey (the twins) moved out of the way just in time to avoid a fatal punch to the nose. Fully awake and ready for a fight, Lucy sighed as she realized what was going on, and relaxed. She was still in bed, but sitting up in the best defensive position she could muster. Realizing it was just the twins acting as an ice mage alarm clock, she fell back against her pillow and groaned.

"Come on guys, you know how I feel about Saturdays." Lucy moaned tiredly, already falling back into sleeps awaiting arms.

"We know! But we thought you would like to read the letter from your father!" The twins replied, still posing as Grey. Seeing that Lucy was already asleep again, they belly flopped on to the bed next to her, making her fly high into the air. Gray may be as chiseled as an ice sculpture, but all that muscle made him weigh a ton! Recovering from her sudden trip into the air, Lucy sat up angrily and pointed accusingly at the smiling boy.

"What did I just tell you two!? And why the hell are you acting like Grey of all people! You both know how much he hates me, or where you not there for our little staring contest?!" Lucy hissed, her arm shaking with rage. The twins just continued to smile.

"We were there Lucy. But did you hear what we just told you?" They asked. Lucy's arm suddenly dropped, and her shaking became that of fear. "Your dad sent you a message back." They said in soft whisper.

After sitting there in shock for almost a full minute, a million thoughts racing through her head, Lucy finally turned towards her bedside table, and grabbed the envelope. It had her father's name delicately inscribed on the front in his own hand. She was shocked. Her father rarely gave his signature out on simple things like letters. Something was off. As she took the delicate thing in her hands, she flipped it over and peeled the wax stamp off the back. Then, ever so gently, she slid the thick paper out of the envelope, and put in her lap. Then she tossed the envelope onto her bedside table, and picked the letter up. The paper was heavier than she expected, but then again what was she expecting? Thick, heavy paper meant a thick, heavy wallet. Unfolding the thing, she read the neatly typed reply. Once she had finished, she couldn't believe her eyes. So, she read it again. And again. And again.

Finally satisfied that her eyes weren't deceiving her, and that her father had in fact written every word she read, she let out a shaky breath as she set the letter down on top of its envelope. She was still shaking, but not out of fear or anxiousness. No, now she was shaking out of rage of what she had done.

"Why the hell did I send that letter!?" She suddenly cried out in frustration. She was the one who had sought him out, realizing now that she hadn't actually thought he would accept her offer and wanted to talk to her. Something was wrong though. The letter was too sweet to be written from her father's normal perspective. In fact, the only sign that it was actually him that wrote the thing was the fact that he had noticed she had changed her last name, and clearly did not approve. What was he up to? Lucy should have known he would do something like this. This warm welcome was just bait to get her to fall into one of his insane schemes, like the last time he sent that guild after Fairy Tail just so he could tell her she was going to be marrying some rich boy. Knowing her father, this was going to be just like that time. But what choice did she have? She needed answers. Ones only Jude Heartfilia would know.

With a deep sigh, Lucy nodded and accepted what she was trying to avoid. She was going to meet with her father today, and that was that. Easier said than done. Sliding out of bed, she sulked over to her bathroom. She was about to start changing so she could get into the shower when she noticed that the twins were still out and posing as Grey.

"Could you please go back into the spirit world now?" She asked in an annoyed voice. This whole letter thing had put her in a seriously sour mood, and only a relaxing bath would help wash it away. The twins, being able to sense this, nodded quickly and with a gold poof were gone, their key shimmering on Lucy's bed side table, showing her that they were back in the spirit world. She had no doubt in her mind that they were telling all of her other spirits what had happened. She smiled slightly. Her spirits really did love her, and she loved them just as much in return. After stripping out of her pajamas, she drew a nice, hot bath and let herself soak for an hour. Finally accepting the fact that she would have to get the meeting over with sooner or later, she took a deep breath and forced herself to drain her bath. After the tub was empty she stood up and turned the shower on.

After her shower Lucy put her hair up in a towel and she put on her bra and underwear. Then she stood in front of her closet, facing one of the hardest decisions of her life. What was she going to where? She knew she couldn't show up in just anything, but there was no way she was going to get all dolled up just for him. Besides, she knew portal travel could possibly destroy a dress if she even tried to look nice.

"What does it matter anyway!? I know he'll have a dress ready for me anyway!" Lucy cried out in frustration. However, this didn't ease her pressure to pick the right outfit. Finally having enough, she sighed and pulled out her normal cloths and added a nice-ish black leather jacket to cover her skin. If her father saw her in a tank top he would scold her for her 'immodesty', but she knew it would just be because she liked to wear them.

"Screw it. He can deal with it." Lucy mumbled under her breath as she changed into her normal outfit, weapons included. Happy with her outfit, she walked over to her bed side table and picked up her ring of keys and attached them to her hip. Then, unfolding the towel on top of her head (she had to take it off to put her shirt, sword, and bow on) her damp hair fell onto her shoulders. Striding into the bathroom with a determined face, Lucy began to fiddle with her hair.

15 minutes later….

"This is impossible! Cancer, help me please!" Lucy cried as she threw her hair out of her hands. No matter what she tried it just wouldn't do what she wanted! Deciding this was a case for the master, the Giant Crab/Man appeared behind her in a puff of red smoke, scissors at the ready.

"What can I do for you, baby?" He asked in his batman voice. **(For those of you that might not know, batman's voice is ruff and gravely.) **

"My hair won't do anything I tell it too!" Lucy cried in a huff.

"Don't worry, I'll handle this, baby." The man replied, and then in a haze of flashing scissors and red Lucy's hair was styled and perfect in a matter of seconds. Smiling happily at her now done hair, she beamed at the crab man and gave him her thanks.

"Any time, baby." He replied, and then in a puff of red smoke he was gone, leaving Lucy's hair in its normal style, only with a smaller, pink bow to hold her side pony tail up. Nodding her approval at her reflection, she moved into the one thing she didn't have any questions about that morning. Make up. In a quick, fluid system of motions her eyes were lined and popping as she applied her mascara and eye-liner. She decided not to do eye shadow, knowing how much her father hated it. He said it made her look desperate and 'peasant looking'. Whatever. What did _he_ know about fashion? _If he's still dressing in his normal suits and ties, then not much. _Lucy said in her head. She let out a small chuckle at her own joke. Then, giving herself a very picky once-over in her mirror, she nodded and walked over to her bedside table again, this time picking up the untrusted letter.

"Well, it's now or never Lucy." She told herself, trying to boost her confidence. It didn't help much. With a deep breath, Lucy closed her eyes and focused a small amount of her magical energy onto the envelope, knowing it was laced with a portal spell. That was how her father always invited business men to his meeting. He didn't trust anyone enough to give them his address. It hurt to see that he was that way with his own daughter. Now focused on the letter, she let go of her breath as she ripped the thing in half. Her eyes closed tightly, she felt a slight stinging sensation as the portal over took her. Her hair flew back at the sudden, nonexistent wind, and she felt as if she was floating in space. Then, as quick as the sensation had came, it vanished. Opening her eyes, Lucy saw she was standing in front of two grand white doors with the Heartfilia crest worked into the door knockers. Letting out a shaky breath, she reached for the door knocker in front of her, and felt its cold, smooth metal in her shaking hand. She began to beat the metal bar against its medal attachment. After the second knock the doors opened and in front of Lucy stood a small, petite young woman in a modest maid outfit.

"You must be Ms. Heartfilia." She said in a quiet, soft voice. She moved aside, an invitation for Lucy to step into the large mansion. Lucy strode in proudly.

"Just call me Lucy." She replied to the woman with a kind smile. The woman just nodded, and then closed the door. Her father had this one trained well. Lucy knew she would still call her by her formal name. Stomping lightly on the soft, stylish welcome mat to get the dust off her boots, Lucy began to speak before the main had a chance to.

"If it's alright for me at ask, can you please take me to see my father now?" She asked as politely as she could, but her tone still hinting that it really wasn't a question. She was going to see her father A.S.A.P, and no one was going to stop her. As expected, the maid only bowed as she replied.

"The master of the house has asked that I lead you to a room where you can change into proper clothing." Lucy sighed, not wanting to do what she was about to do. But this meeting was important. Quick as light she pulled out Gemini's key and had already summoned them. The maid didn't even have time to gasp in surprise. There was no doubt in Lucy's mind that the poor woman had not seen magic up close or possibly at all in her entire life.

"Gemini, copy her." Lucy told the twins. They were still posed as Grey, but soon began to morph into their new target. In a matter of seconds they looked exactly like the poor maid staring at them in shock. Then, in another sudden, sharp movement Lucy had knocked the maid unconscious and was holding her limp body in her arms. Then, setting her down gently on the bench next to them, she and the twins walked out of the mud room and into a grand hallway.

"Alright guys, lead the way." Lucy told the happy twins. They nodded in excitement as they began maneuvering through a series of rooms and halls until they reached a large, spiral stair case. The whole house appeared to be furnished with only the rarest models of furniture and plush, white carpet. As Lucy and her spirits began to climb the stair case, she had another request for the twins.

"What can you guys tell me about this place? Any traps that I should know about?" Knowing her father, she wouldn't put it past him to set traps in order to keep her locked up in this big house forever. The Gemini twins just shook their heads.

"Nope, there's nothing suspicious about this place." They answered as they continued to climb the stairs. "At least nothing this woman knew about."

Lucy nodded, and then focused on what she would say when she saw her father. In fact, she was so lost in thought she didn't notice the guard walking down the stairs. To late did she realize this as she and guard collided. Whatever he was clutching in his hands flew away from him as he and the blond mage toppled to the ground. The Gemini twins just stared at their fallen master in shock, unsure of what to do.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry!" Lucy cried out in shock as she stood up off the ground. She looked down at the large man who was still lying sprawled out on the stairs. Stretching her hand out, she offered it to him. Without a bit of hesitation, the man took it and she helped him up. "Are you okay sir!?" Lucy asked, her voice and eyes full of concern. The man just laughed lightly.

"It's alright Miss. I am a guard after all. What kind of protector would I be if a simple fall caused me pain?" He asked through his laugh. Lucy smiled and nodded.

"I guess you're right. But still, are you okay?" That's when he looked at her. The first thing she noticed was the prominent laugh lines in his aged but not ancient face. Then she noticed his uniform cut, brown hair. And yet something was so familiar about him. Suddenly Lucy found herself caught in his bright green eyes. They looked so…familiar….but from where?! Lucy could tell there was a memory trying to surface, but for some reason it wasn't coming forward. And then another sickening feeling hit Lucy right in the gut, almost causing her to double over in pain. Why did it feel like this had happened to her before!? Like this same memory was being suppressed, that this was the second time she had seen these eyes? She knew she was onto something, but that something sure as hell didn't want to be found.

"It seems the greater question right now is if you yourself are alright. You look a little pale Miss." The guard replied with concern clear on his face. Lucy just gave a shaky smile as she pulled her hand away, unaware that he was still holding it in gentlemanly way.

"I-I'm alright. I just have to go. I have a m-meeting with my fa…Mr. Heartfilia." Lucy replied with a solid-ish voice. The confusing feelings suddenly gone, vanishing the second she let go of the man's hand. However, to shaken up to realize this, Lucy just began walking up the stairs again, the twins following behind her like a dog, unsure of what to do. It was clear to them that their master was not okay, but the reason as to why they had no clue. The guard just shrugged, and then began walking. Suddenly turning around, Lucy realized that the man had dropped something as they both fell. Rushing past the now VERY confused Gemini twins, she stopped in front of a slim slip of paper the guard was holding. Bending down and picking it up quickly, she began to chase after the guard.

"Sir, you forgot somethi…" Lucy began, and then stopped. The man was nowhere to be seen. All that was visible other than the twins was a strange cloud of mist surrounding where the guard had just been standing. _Why is this so familiar!? _Lucy cried wildly in her head. Standing there for a minute, she finally sighed and shoved the slip of paper into her pocket. She would look at later. Right now she had her father to deal with.

"Are you alright Lucy?" The twins asked as they began to walk up the stairs again, Lucy still looking dazed. Shaking her head to clear away the weirdness of it all, she smiled at them and nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine. I think my nerves are getting to me." She replied with a smile. This time she actually believed herself…sort of….

They finally reached the top of the stair case and were faced with a deep black door. Looking over at the twins, Lucy saw them nod a 'yes' to the question she was silently asking them. Then, with a big, deep breath she approached the door, and knocked three time.

"Come in." I gruff voice barked through the wood. Signaling the twins to open the doors, they did as they were instructed to do and opened the doors like the maid wood. Quietly and slowly. They knew they were now undercover, and would be acting as the maid. It was the way Lucy worked with her spirits. Hidden in plain sight. Stepping forward confidently, Lucy entered the large room and strode right up to her father's desk. She was standing in front of him before he noticed her presence and looked up from the piece of paper he was scribbling on.

"Lucy, where is your dress?" He asked her, shooting a deadly look at the twins, not realizing they really weren't the maid. However, they did what the maid would have done, which is give a deep curtsy and back away until they were against the wall.

"Don't blame her. I'm not here to please you. I'm here on strict business." Lucy glared at him. Jude turned his attention to his daughter, and frowned.

"That may be what you think." Then he looked at her closer. "You've changed. Is that what you've been doing in that foolish guild of yours? Running around in these present cloths?" He hissed distastefully, returning his attention to his paper.

"No, this is something I started when I was kicked out of that 'foolish guild of mine'." Lucy replied, her voice equally as harsh. If her father had taught her one thing, it was how to sound intimidating. His head tilted up as she delivered the news that she was kicked out of Fairy Tail. But just because that was so didn't mean she no longer loved the place. She would give her life to protect it in a heartbeat, no questions asked.

"I see. So you were dismissed then?" He asked in a controlled, cool tone. Lucy just nodded, knowing this was just bait for her to lose her temper. That was at least one good thing that had come from being ignored and hated for those long months at the guild. She had learned how to control her temper. However, she was struggling to do so with her father. There was just something about him that made her want to blow up a building. Preferably this one, with all of his precious money inside as she blew it sky high.

"But that's not what I've come to discuss with you." She said quickly, cutting to the point. Her father just nodded, and gestured to a plush chair against the wall with his pen. Lucy just stood there. She knew this was all just an attempt for him to show his dominance over her. She had all of her tricks memorized.

"I've come to talk about something we've never talked about before. My magic." She continued, making no move to retrieve the chair.

Jude's head snapped up from his paper, a crazed look in his eyes. Lucy knew he hated magic, and that this wasn't going to be easy. But for some reason she felt a new confidence flowing through her. That and her magic energy was humming under her skin, helping her to remember she wasn't the scared girl she used to be.

"And what do you wish to discuss about such an awful topic?" Her father spat out. No, he wasn't going to do that. Not when she needed answers. Slamming her fist onto his desk, she caused the stacks of coins Jude was counting to fall into a chaotic mess.

"Listen to me, and listen carefully. Something is happening to me, and only you could possibly know the answers as to why. For once I need you not to be my father, and just be a man helping out a young girl. I gave up the Heartfilia name a long time ago, and you know nothing you say or do can stop me from destroying this whole place right now. So I suggest you stop with the business man attitude and start acting like a human being." Lucy growled as her magical energy began to seep out of her in a dangerous aura. Her father just stared at her for a second, and then set his pen down and leaned back in his chair.

"Fine, you have five minutes to convince me this isn't a waste of my time." He spat back. Lucy straightened up and looked him strait in the eye.

"Why can I use Elemental Dragon Slayer magic, as well as Light and Dark magic? Both separate and together." She asked. Might as well get to the point. Her father just looked at her, and then sighed.

"That's not my information to disclose." Was all he replied in a tired voice.

"The hell it is!" Lucy shot back. "This magic is tearing me apart! I'm starting to lose control of it!" she screamed in frustration, the dam inside her that was holding back all of her emotions concerning this topic breaking into a million shards as all her fears and concerns came pouring out. "It's eating me from the inside out, this magical energy!" She continued, her mind flashing to the arena when she felt the strong urge to rip Natsu's head off. And then to the morning she blew up her kitchen while she was doing the dishes. Then she remembered the first time she had used the dark and light magic together.

_Flashback: _

_ The rain was pouring down on Lucy as she silently crept through the dense jungle, aware of everything around her. She was on her third S-Class mission, and her job was to destroy a powerful demon who was eating villagers of the nearby guild. The thing was too big for that guild to fight off, so they had called out for help. The second the request went up on the job board Makarov assigned it Lucy, something only Erza, Mira, and Laxus knew about. So, there she was creeping through the thick jungle as she was searching for the things hide out. Little did she knew she was already there. _

_ The ground began to shake as something huge approached the blonde mage. Knowing it was the demon, Lucy stopped moving and perched in her tree, waiting for the beast to show itself. A hunter waiting for its prey. Soon after the shaking had begun, a large hand suddenly clamped around Lucy's small frame. Surprised by the stealth of the demon, Lucy quickly freed herself as she slashed the whole hand free from the giant's wrist. With a cry of pain the giant roared as it backed away from its falling hands as Lucy fell to the jungle floor, still stuck in the hands grasp. Cutting herself out quickly, Lucy looked around to see she had landed in the middle of a clearing that she was positive wasn't there a minute ago. Then, looking up she saw the face of the demon. It was about as tall as her apartment, and made out of black magic. _

_ Dodging the demons fist, Lucy slashed its other hand off. She had to move quickly though, pushing her speed to the limit. This thing was fast and quiet, two things you didn't want your opponent to be. Still looking up at the giant, Lucy began running towards it, a battle cry escaping her lips. Then, just as she swung her flame sword the demon was gone. Nowhere to be seen. _

_ "Got you!" A voice boomed, and then suddenly Lucy saw the great demon leaning down over her, its mouth wide open to devour her. Knowing there was no chance of escape other than a roar, Lucy began an Elemental Roar, but suddenly felt something cramming down her throat. Something that tasted amazing, like fire or ice only ten times more powerful. Closing her eyes, she continued to inhale whatever it was she was eating as she felt a rush of power run through her. It was one of the most amazing things she had ever felt in her entire life. The flow of magical energy shot through her bones as it hummed under her skin. And then she felt a pain unlike anything she had ever felt in her life. Clamping her jaws shut, her blood shot eyes snapped open to see the rest of the dark monster vanish into her mouth. Gasping in shock and lack of breath, Lucy fell to her knees in pain. She began clawing at her throat, desperate for air. She clawed until she felt something slippery and wet prevent her from clawing at her throbbing throat. Lifting her hands to her face she saw them covered with blood. Then it felt as if all of her bones were exploding into millions of sharp shards, shredding her insides. A blinding darkness began to eat away at her vision as the pain began to amplify. Now on her back she began to cough up something….gold. No, she was coughing up black blood with gold shining in it. It felt as if the inside of her throat was being torn in half. It was like there was something at the base of her throat, desperate to get free in whatever way it could. Lucy screamed as more of the back and gold liquid flew out of her mouth. Clawing at the ground, she was still fighting for air. Her whole body was jerking out of control. _

_ "Make it STOP!" Lucy screamed at the top of her burning lungs. Suddenly a huge, dark beam of what looked light back and gold fire shot out of her mouth. It shot strait into the sky, and then began to pulse outward towards the jungle surrounding the clearing. It lasted for ten seconds, and then was gone like all the pain in her body. All that was left was a crying, bleeding, confused Lucy and a partly destroyed jungle. _

Lucy shuttered at the memory. That was the first time she had used that roar. She knew right away it was something very different from her Elemental Roar, but chose to call it that any way. Well, she called it the Roar of the Elemental Dragon Slayer: Lights Destruction. Something very different from her normal roar. She knew she wasn't the light or dark dragon slayer though, but she could still use those powers. And what was more was the fact that's he could use them together. Remembering where she was, she looked her father dead in the eye.

"It's killing me." She finally said in a hoarse whisper, the memory of pain caught in her throat.

"I-I'm sorry Lucy. Truly, I am." Her father croaked out. Lucy just looked at him with wide eyes as a single tear slid down your cheek. "I knew this day would come. The day you came to be to get answers. And I knew you would wait until this magic was killing you, just like it killed your mother."

Lucy just looked at her father in shock. "B-but mom wasn't magical…." She began, tears threatening her eyes.

"Yes, she was. Lucy, your mother was the daughter of the princess of the dragons." Jude said in a sad, slow voice. All the years of suppressing the pain of losing her flowing out in its deep tones. Lucy just started at him, her eyes wide.

"W-what!?" She asked. Jude just nodded.

"Yes. With the royal blood coursing through her veins, her magic was stronger than that of most dragons. Her elemental magic was legend in the dragon world." He continued, a small smile appearing on his thin lips. Then it fell of as quick as it had appeared.

"That still doesn't explain why I can use light and dark magic together." Lucy pressed, anxious for answers. Jude sighed.

"Lucy, it's time you knew the truth… I'm not your father." He said in his cool, controlled voice. Lucy couldn't even process what he had said though for a full minuet, and when it finally clicked she stared at her thought-to-be-father in horror.

"W-WHAT!?" She cried with outrage. "If you're not my father, then who is!?"

Her father looked at her with sad eyes, and then he sighed like what he was about to say was a painful thing to speak out.

"Lucy, your father is Jason, Prince of the Fairies and King of the Shadow Realm."

**Ha! Bet you didn't see that one coming! And yes, that Jason is the Jason from the train station! Trust me, it all works out! Just keep reading ;P Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Please leave any comments you have in the reviews! =D **

**~VampireFluteChick~ **


	7. It all Comes Into the Light Right?

**Hey Guys! I hope you enjoyed that little plot twist at the end, and that you continue to enjoy the story! I can't tell you how much I appreciate it that you guys are reading (and hopefully) enjoying my work. As soon as this story in done I will defiantly be moving on to another one! I'm thinking it's going to be a vampire high type of story, but what do you guys want to read about? If any of you have any off-the-wall flat out weird or scary ideas you would like to see written about, please tell me! So, now I introduce to you Chapter 7: At All Comes into the Light…Right? **

Chapter 7: It All Come into the Light….Right?

_Recap: _

"_That still doesn't explain why I can use light and dark magic together." Lucy pressed, anxious for answers. Jude sighed. _

_ "Lucy, it's time you knew the truth… I'm not your father." He said in his cool, controlled voice. Lucy couldn't even process what he had said though for a full minuet, and when it finally clicked she stared at her thought-to-be-father in horror. _

_ "W-WHAT!?" She cried with outrage. "If you're not my father, then who is!?" _

_ Her father looked at her with sad eyes, and then he sighed like what he was about to say was a painful thing to speak out. _

"_Lucy, your father is Jason, Prince of the Fairies and King of the Shadow Realm."_

Present, still in the Heartfilia Mansion….

Lucy just stared at the man in front of her with wide, tear filled eyes. What was he saying!? What did he mean he wasn't her father, and that she was the daughter of a KING of some creepy place called the "Shadow Realm"?! Lucy's world was being turned upside down, inside out, and twisted until it shattered into a million little pieces.

"B-but how?" She finally managed to choke out. What about that big, beautiful story about how Lucy's nick name, "Lucky Lucy" came from!? What about that sentimental moment she and her 'father' had when Lucy beat up all those robbers in order to save him, not even knowing if he was in danger!?

"Lucy, I'm sure you have been able to figure this out, but I lied to you about how I met your mother. Yes, we did meet in that town and yes, your nick name did came from that broken sign, but your mother was already pregnant with you by the time we decided to run away together." Jude began, more tears trickling down his dry, aged cheeks. Lucy could feel her own tears leaking out of her eyes as she watched the man she once called father explain how almost everything she knew was lie.

"You're father left your mother once he found out she was pregnant. Unwliling to take on the responsibility of becoming a father, he lashed out and broke away from the Light Kingdome that watches over all of the guilds in Mongolia and fled into the Shadow Realm. He left your mother pregnant, shamed, and poor. However, her and I were close friends as we often times walked to and from places together and had tea at each other's houses." He continued, then he gave a sad smile. "Since the day I first saw her I knew immediately that she was the one for me, and I vowed I wouldn't rest until I won her hand. So, one day as we were drinking tea at my small, quaint, house I proposed to her. And that very same day she told me about you." He said, looking into the tearful blond mages eyes, the sad smile still on his face. "I knew that by asking for your mother's hand in marriage that I would become a target to the dark magic of the Fairy prince, but I didn't care. I loved you and your mother with all of my heart, and I was willing to risk everything I had for that love."

Lucy, who was crying harder now, just stared at her adoptive dad in shock. Not once had she ever heard him say that he loved her.

"So, that brings us to the sign. You were about to be born and so we rushed away to the old Heartfilia mansion that was so kindly bought out from under my feet last year. A few weeks after our arrival your mother gave birth, and you were born." Jude said, his smile growing into that of a triumphant, proud one. Lucy had never seen him so full of pride, especially when talking about her. "You were absolutely perfect. Long blond hair like your mothers, but a certain strength glowing inside you. Not that of a man's, but not that of a damsel. Yes, you were perfect, and so was my world."

Lucy, shocked to have heard these words, began to question her sanity and if she was only dreaming. However, unable to speak because of her shock and tears, she stayed quiet and let her 'father' continue speaking, his smile now replaced with a grimace full of hate and despair.

"And then your mother fell sick. You see, when you were inside her womb the dark magic of the prince was worked into your blood, and there for into your mother. Being full of such light, her fragile body couldn't handle the two together, and soon it tore her apart from the inside out." He finished, his words full of hate. It was even worse than the voice he used with her when she was younger.

"So there I was, stuck with the child that wrenched prince had cursed with his evil magic and losing one of the people I loved most in the world. I knew I could never let him near you, for as a young boy I was taught that even the evilest of magic could be used for good if brought up by the right person, so I hid you away in the mansion so no one could ever hurt you."

That was it, Lucy couldn't take it anymore. He said he wanted to protect her!? Ha! Is that what you called ignoring and convincing your child she was nothing her entire life to the point where she had to run away!? Did he honestly think that now with the truth out she would suddenly understand and forgive him!? She didn't think so!

"So, you call ignoring me protection!? You made my childhood hell! You made me think I was nothing! All those days I spent, wondering why I didn't have any friends I always thought it was because of me! That I was the problem! That there was something about me that made everyone hate me, even my own father!" She screamed, her magical energy bubbling inside her dangerously. "WHO AM I!?" She screamed in frustration, a strong blast of black laced wind exploding out of her. It took almost all of strength now to destroy the mansion.

Jude just looked at her, and then did something unexpected. He stood up and out of his chair, and walked over to Lucy. Then, with a surprisingly gently grip he grabbed her shoulders in fatherly way, and looked her into the eyes.

"Your true name is Lucy Darkbright, but I still think of you as Lucy Heartfilia. But I saw that you signed your letter with the last name 'Trustblood'. So, I think that it is up to you. Only you can chose who you are."

He said with a soft smile. Unable to stop herself Lucy flung her arms around her father's neck, and brought him into a tight hug. No, he wasn't her birth father, but here he was now, clearly doing his best to give her all the answers he could. Yes, he had been a horrible father when she was a young girl, but now that they had both matured he was trying his best to make things up to her, and that was good enough for her.

"Thank you." She whispered. He just hugged her tighter in response. After the heartbreaking hug was over, Lucy thanked her father and promised to write to him if anything big happened. He smiled and agreed to do the same. Lucy then walked out of the room, followed by the silently crying Gemini twins, and down the stairs feeling like a huge weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Yes, her father was still obsessed with money and no, they were never going to have the father-daughter relationship Lucy had always dreamed of having, but at least now she knew he loved her at least a little.

"Is she gone?"

"Yes sir, she just now walked out of the front door with her spirits following her. No doubt they are telling the rest of her keys what happened."

"Good." Jude smirked. Then he turned to the guard that was talking to him, and nodded for him to leave. "I am no longer in need of your services." The guard gave a stiff nod, and left the room. As soon as the door clicked shut, Jude Heartfilia's body began to distort until it was not Jude standing in the middle of his office, but Jason Darkbright. He had given up the teenage boy appearance and had returned to his true state. He was a strong, tall man with broad shoulders and a slim but muscular frame. He had raven black hair that hung into his eyes slightly. He was dressed in a dark black suit with a bright green tie to match his eyes. In all three of those discuses he had used to spy on his daughter, the only thing he had kept the same about himself were his bright, piercing green eyes. Chucking softly to himself, he walked over to the chair that he had offered to Lucy and pulled it away from the wall, revealing a secret panel. Crouching down, he opened the thing ever so gently, and pulled out the magic writhed corpse that lay inside its dark clutches. Jude Heartfilia was such an easy kill, it almost wasn't fun to watch the life drain from his eyes as the black magic consumed him. Almost. Having drug the horribly mangled body out of the hidden passage, Jason placed the panel back where it had been, and moved the chair back in front of it. Then, he stood up and began making his way to the door, simply leaving the body in the middle of the room for the guards to find later on. Just as he was about to leave, though, he turned around so he was looking in the direction of the dead man, and gave a small bow like he did to Lucy the first day they met.

"Thank you for allowing my daughter to hate you. Her powers are growing stronger yet, and her love for the light is fading fast." He said in a deep, chilling voice. And with that he left the room and he rotting corpse of Jude Heartfilia.

I watched as the dark haired man snuck out of the master's office and disappeared in a large cloud of black mist. Knowing it was safe to re-enter the room, I sprinted to the door and rushed inside. The sight of my dead master's body lying in the middle of the room shocked me, but I knew that was not my main goal. Jude had instructed me to do so that morning. He knew that Jason would be coming for him. He knew ever since Lucy had sent him that letter. So, he told me that no matter what happened that after the meeting I was to call Fairy Tail, and order them to intercept Lucy before her father could convince her to take on the darkness brooding inside her. Running to the phone on the black desk, I quickly dialed the number I had memorized and waited for an answer. A gruff, old voice picked up on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Hello, my name is Zander Lockquest, a guard at the Heartfilia Mansion. Jude has just been discovered dead, and his adoptive daughter, Lucy, has just left from a meeting with the Fairy King Jason Darkbright posing as him. Please, do everything you can to keep Lucy safe. She lives in a cottage in the woods of Luck Town, and has already come into contact with her evil father four times. Please help her before it's too late." And with that I cut the line, and quickly turned around, preparing to sound the mansion alarm. The last thing I saw were a pair of bright green eyes glowing evilly as my head was chopped off my shoulders.

At Fairy Tail

As the line went dead, Makarov just stared at the phone in his shaking had. Noticing the old man's odd behavior, Mira set the glass she was polishing onto the hard wood of the bar and looked at him with worried eyes.

"Is everything alright?" She asked in her soft, motherly voice. He just shook his head and slammed the phone down in reply. Anger coursed through him. Someone was after one of his children, dismissed or not, and he had just now gotten word of it. Now shaking out of anger than shock, the old man just looked at Mira with hard eyes, and hopped off his stool. Walking up to his grandson Laxus, he shuffled past him and began to climb the stairs leading to the second floor. Noticing his grandfather's mood, Laxus followed him, concern in his heart. As soon as Makarov reached the top of the stars, he walked over to the banister where he normally made guild wide announcements, and cleared his throat.

"Alright! Listen up you brats!" He said in the voice he had when he was a giant.

There was currently a fight between Grey, Natsu, and Gajeel as Makarov spoke. They were throwing furniture at each other and tossing insults back and forth when the old man's voice shook the entire guild. Seeing as the three boys were still fighting, Erza stood up from her seat and put an end to the fight quickly.

"Stop it you three! Makarov is speaking to us!" She hissed at the now badly bruised boys, pointing to the old man. He nodded at her, and continued speaking, Laxus now standing behind him.

"Lucy is in danger. I just received a very brief phone call from a guard at her father's mansion. Jude Heartfilia has just been discovered dead in his office…right after Lucy left from a meeting with him. The Jude she met with was actually her biological father, Jason Darkbright."

There were a few gasps in the room as only a select few mages actually knowing who the evil, dark mage was, and how cruel he was rumored to be. Of course, those were only rumors. No one who met him face to face ever survived the encounter. However, these select few only consisted of Mira, Erza, and Laxus, so not many really understood the severity of the situation. So, Makarov continued to explain.

"You see, Jason is a very powerful, very dangerous black sorcerer. He possesses a magic unlike any other in the world because of the royal Fairy blood coursing through his veins. A single look into his bright green eyes can send you spiraling into a world of insanity, and a single blast of his black Fairy punch can make you explode into a thousand bloody pieces. He is also has the ability to morph his appearance in order to remain hidden. He is king of the Shadow Realm, a whole other world full of pain, death, and the most potent of evils. Lucy has met with this man four times and most likely has no idea how dangerous he really is. I have no doubt in my mind that he is trying to complete Lucy's growth into her dark and light powers, hoping her to turn into just as an evil being as he himself is."

Now the whole guild was staring at the old man with wide, shocked eyes. After Lucy took off without even saying goodbye, the guild had returned to its normal activities, a small Lucy shaped whole in the colorful painting that was Fairy Tail. That was also when Wendy, Lisanna, and Mira created their own team. They called themselves The Three Sisters, and had been going on some pretty tough missions, quickly earning them the title of the strongest team in all of Fairy Tail. And yes, that does mean they surpassed a very different Team Natsu. Once Lucy left, Lisanna quickly retired from the team, leaving Natsu, Grey, and Erza on their own. All three of them seemed to grow colder as each day without Lucy passed by. Natsu especially. He and Lucy were two of the closet people in the whole guild. In fact, if you didn't know them well you would assume they were dating. So when Lucy left he turned away from almost everyone in the guild. The only people he talked to were Erza, Grey, Gajeel, and Levy. That was another thing, Levy was also different. She wasn't as talkative, and her smile now hid an apparent pain. She and Gajeel had started dating soon after Lucy left, and now Gajeel was the only person she really talked to. Sure, she said the occasional, "Okay." And, "No problem." When talking with Team Natsu, but Gajeel was the only one who ever got any emotion out of her.

"Who the hell does he think he is!?" A sudden cry rang out from the back of the room. Everyone's heads whipped back to see a very angry Lisanna stomping into the middle of the guild, finally arriving at the guild hall, Wendy hot on her heels. Those two never went anywhere without each other.

"He thinks he is a very powerful dark king with a million demon army at his disposal in the Shadow Realm!" Makarov replied in an angry tone. He wasn't angry at them, but at the mere fact that one of his dearest children were in danger. "The only chance Lucy has of escaping his cruel plan is to keep her from entering his kingdom, which could happen at any moment now. Once she crosses out of this world and into that one, we will be like a hill of ants to her father's power. Tiny and insignificant. However, in this world, it is only him and possibly a few strong allies. In this world is the only chance we have of taking him down." He continued, a plan clearly forming in his head.

"I have selected a group of powerful mages who will ban together and bring Lucy back to the guild! Erza, Laxus, Mira, Natsu, Lisanna, Wendy, and Mira. Please leave as soon as you are able. We have no time to waste. Lucy lives in a cottage in a clearing in the forest of Luck Town." He declared, his voice now full of triumph and pride. "Show her that Fairy Tail is still her home, and we will protect her with our lives! Show her that she has a reason to follow the light, and to shun the dark! Show her what it truly means to be a member of Fairy Tail!" He cried, and then threw his hand in the air, his fingers forming the famous Fairy Tail sign. There came triumphant cries from almost everyone in the guild as hundreds of hands flew into the air, all of them forming the Fairy Tail sign. Then, parting like the red sea, the crowed split in order to let the selected mages though to the door. Laxus had rushed down the stairs and joined the other chosen mages as they made their way to the door, Natsu leading the pack with a determined face. He, unlike the rest of the guild, wasn't pumped up. No, all he could think about was all the way's he was going to destroy the man who was threatening his Lucy.

_"Lucy, I promise I'll keep you safe, even if it means I have to die." _He pledged in his mind as he shoved the guild doors open and strode out into the fading light. He had lost Lucy once because of his stupidity. He wasn't about to lose her again.

"So, I take it the meeting went well?" A high pitched voice cackled. The dark haired man just smiled as he took his seat at the nearly full table. He was the only one late, but that was normal. It's three other occupants looking at him with sick, evil smiles.

"Did you talk to her?" A rich, seductive voice purred. It was a woman's voice, an evil smile clear in her words.

"Yes, and I must say I am a proud man. She's turning into a strong, black hearted woman. Remind me to thank her old guild the next time I see them for fueling the black." The dark haired man replied as he leaned back comfortably in his chair.

"So you have no doubts that she'll accept the dark?" A smooth, sophisticated voice asked.

"I'm positive. While I was posing as her father she told me about how she was losing control over the darkness, and how it was eating her from the inside out. Her resolve for the light is crumbling even though she has yet to realize it." The late man replied, his white teeth gleaming in the scarce light as he finished with an evil smile.

"So, it has begun. The light and the dark are fighting with each other as she matures. Poor dear. Why don't we just snatch her now, and end the pain?" The woman asked, sick sympathy in her lush voice.

"No! We need _her _to come to _us_ in order for her powers to be at their strongest!" The sophisticated voice barked, setting a heavy tension in the air. It was shattered by a high pitched cackle.

"Not to worry! I'm sure it won't be long until she comes. She'll get curious if anything. After all, she is a Darkbright! Isn't that right Jason?" The creepy voice asked, earning a waterfall of laughs from around the table.

"You're absolutely right my slimy friend! She is a Darkbright, and it won't be long until she has taken her place at this very table, and we five shall finally provide the rulers this wretched world deserves!" Jason declared, thrusting his full glass of Fire whiskey into the air.

"Hear hear! And may the darkness reign forever!" Came the reply as the rest of the people threw their own glasses into the air, toasting to their inevitable success. Then they all drank deeply, not a concern in the world. Things were going exactly as planned. Lucy's soul was breaking, Fairy Tail had turned away from her, and her adoptive father was dead. The only thing left to do was wait for her to read that little note Jason had dropped as he posed as the guard that had ran into the blond mage, and then let the rest of their plan ford out before them without a hitch.

**Hey guys! This chapter was a little different than what my normal chapters are like, but I wanted you to see the bigger picture of what was going on! Oh, and I'm sorry about having your heads chopped off! I just thought it would be really cool if the guard was written in first person! :P So, with all this new stuff going on, what do you think is going to happen? Will Lucy actually turn to the dark? Will Makarovs team be able to save Lucy? Will Lucy even allow them to talk to her? Where did that last scene take place? Who were those people Jason was talking to? Does Natsu love Lucy, or is it just a close friendship? If you think you have the answer to any of these questions or would like to suggest one, leave it in the reviews! Also, if you have anything you want to suggest to or ask me, feel free to do so! I love reading your guy's reviews, and try to answer to as many of them as possible. Oh, and if I missed any review, here you go! **

**Shadowtolight: Maybe ;)**

**Altairis vogue: Maybe ;) It all depends on where this thing goes, and thank you! I hope you enjoy the chapters to come! **

**Bstarrb: Thank you SO much! **

**InsanityScreamsDarkness: You are always one of the first people to read and leave a comment on my latest chapter! Thank you so much!**

**supchild6414: Thank you so much for such the unique compliment! **

**Starfire: I try to update as soon as possible! Thanks for reading! **

**Guest: Man, I'm so sad I can't address you by a name because your comment has meant so much to me! Thank you and I hope you enjoy the chapters to come! **

**Guest: Again! I have no clue if you're the same person, so I'll just put guest twice. =P Thank you, but I'm sorry but I don't think I'm going to make Lucy fall in love with an OC. I'm sorry =C. But I hope you still enjoy the story. **

**Star: Thank you for all of your reviews! I am so happy to see that someone likes my story so much! And I kind of put one of those last questions in for you ;) I'm all for Nalu…maybe! =P**

**AriaCybertronian: I don't know whether to be happy that my story was good enough to make you cry, or to feel bad because it did! Thank you so much for reading and I hope you continue to read and like this story =D**

**Sommer3Butter: I did think about killing Natsu, but decided against it…I think….**

**cutebunny101: I'm sorry! I'll try to keep uploading quickly! Thank you for reading!**

**celestialsoul13: You were one of my first reviews, and I can't thank you enough for that! **

**nelly99: Same to you! Don't worry dude, I'm uploading as fast as I can! **

**JcL107: Your comment as been one of my favorites so far! Thank you for asking me a question, and I hope you are still reading and are happy with these latest chapters, and the ones to come! **


	8. Nightmares in the Sunlight

**Hey Guys, I'm SO sorry it's taken me so long to upload! With the new-year and everything life tends to get a little exciting. My church youth-group does this thing called, "The Lock In." basically a bunch of teens gather at the church at 6 o'clock on new-year's eve, lock themselves in the church, and play games until 8 the next morning. There was no sleep to be had, so when I got home the next morning at 8 a.m. I slept until 5:30 that night, and then basically zoned out to music and Fairy Tail when my mom made me get out of bed. After all, I'm only at episode 68…yeah, I got a long way to go…so any way, that's why I haven't uploaded! Also, I got a lot of reviews about how out of Character Natsu was from the previous chapters. Don't worry! This is all part of my plan! Now, without further-a-do, I present Chapter 8: Nightmares in the Sunlight. **

Chapter 8: Nightmares in the Sunlight.

_Recap:_

"_Lucy, I promise I'll keep you safe, even if it means I have to die." He pledged in his mind as he shoved the guild doors open and strode out into the fading light. He had lost Lucy once because of his stupidity. He wasn't about to lose her again. _

_ "So, I take it the meeting went well?" A high pitched voice cackled. The dark haired man just smiled as he took his seat at the nearly full table. He was the only one late, but that was normal. It's three other occupants looking at him with sick, evil smiles. _

_ "Did you talk to her?" A rich, seductive voice purred. It was a woman's voice, an evil smile clear in her words. _

_ "Yes, and I must say I am a proud man. She's turning into a strong, black hearted woman. Remind me to thank her old guild the next time I see them for fueling the black." The dark haired man replied as he leaned back comfortably in his chair. _

_ "So you have no doubts that she'll accept the dark?" A smooth, sophisticated voice asked. _

_ "I'm positive. While I was posing as her father she told me about how she was losing control over the darkness, and how it was eating her from the inside out. Her resolve for the light is crumbling even though she has yet to realize it." The late man replied, his white teeth gleaming in the scarce light as he finished with an evil smile. _

_ "So, it has begun. The light and the dark are fighting with each other as she matures. Poor dear. Why don't we just snatch her now, and end the pain?" The woman asked, sick sympathy in her lush voice. _

_ "No! We need her to come to us in order for her powers to be at their strongest!" The sophisticated voice barked, setting a heavy tension in the air. It was shattered by a high pitched cackle. _

_ "Not to worry! I'm sure it won't be long until she comes. She'll get curious if anything. After all, she is a Darkbright! Isn't that right Jason?" The creepy voice asked, earning a waterfall of laughs from around the table. _

_ "You're absolutely right my slimy friend! She is a Darkbright, and it won't be long until she has taken her place at this very table, and we five shall finally provide the rulers this wretched world deserves!" Jason declared, thrusting his full glass of Fire whiskey into the air. _

_ "Hear hear! And may the darkness reign forever!" Came the reply as the rest of the people threw their own glasses into the air, toasting to their inevitable success. Then they all drank deeply, not a concern in the world. Things were going exactly as planned. Lucy's soul was breaking, Fairy Tail had turned away from her, and her adoptive father was dead. The only thing left to do was wait for her to read that little note Jason had dropped as he posed as the guard that had ran into the blond mage, and then let the rest of their plan ford out before them without a hitch._

Present, in Lucy's home.

Sighing, the exhausted mage fell onto her couch with a loud thud. She had just gotten back from seeing her father, and was tired by the walk. Portal spells were a one way trip only, so she had to walk the long miles in a town she was unfamiliar with in order to find the nearest train station. After she finally found one, she was greeted by a smiling old man who told her the train heading for Luck Town had just departed five minutes earlier. So, stuck at the train station, Lucy had to wait another hour until another train heading to Luck Town arrived. And THEN, on top of all that, the irritated mage had to deal with a five hour ride stuffed to the brim with some of the most horrible motion sickness she had ever had the displeasure to experience. Finally in Luck Town, she called a cab (which she had no problem with for some weird reason…) and was finally home.

As Lucy lazily laid on her purple couch there was a bright, golden poof of gold smoke and she was suddenly face to face with a very happy Loke.

"What are you so happy about?" She asked in a tired tone. She wasn't in the mood for another one of his…exciting….proposals, so she was silently praying in her head for anything else. He simple sat down by her feat as started to slide her shoes off. If this was an attempt to get her to marry him, it was by far one of the weirdest things he had ever tried.

"Nothing much. The Gemini twins told me about the meeting with your dad, and I guess I'm just happy that you're happy." He replied, now rubbing her worn out feet. It felt…nice. But of course it did. Loke knew exactly how to make a woman…um…never mind….

"Thanks! It was really cool of him. I mean, it's nice to know that all those years he was so awful to me to try and protect me. His plan failed, but the sentiment was there!" Lucy beamed back at the lion spirit. He was now working on her ankles.

"Yah. So, have you read that slip of paper that guard dropped yet?" Loke replied, now to her knees. What was he doing?

"N-no…." Lucy stuttered as the flirt moved up to her thighs. It's not like he was trying to touch her butt or anything (thank God! Last time he did that Lucy had a red mark on her butt for a week….) she was just startled at his closeness.

"Well, are you going to then?" Loke asked, his voice getting deeper as he moved up to her hips. Now he wasn't really massaging her, but just lightly brushing her jeans with his hands, making her skin buzz under the gentle, seductive touch.

"Y-yah, I g-guess." Lucy continued to stutter. Why wasn't she stopping him? It did feel good though…now he was at the base of her stomach, his warm hands slowly caressing her bare skin as he slowly crept up under the bottom of her shirt. Pulling the slip of paper out of her jacket pocket, Lucy tried to ignore the sexy mage as he sent chills through her body. Bringing the small sheet of paper to her eyes, she slowly began to unfold it, trying to stay in control as Loke slowly worked his way up. Why was he doing this? And why the hell was she letting him!?

"Ha! Yay!" A high pitch voiced giggled right as Lucy had the piece of paper unfolded. It was snatched out of her shaking hands right as she was about to read it. Twisting to look behind her she saw the Gemini twins in the air above her head holding the slip of paper.

"Hey! Give that pack!" She cried in outrage, ready to get up and tackle to floating smurfs to the ground. However, she found she was pinned to the couch by a now very _very_ close Loke.

"Sorry Lucy! But I can't let you go! It's part of the game!" He said in a lush whisper. Lucy wasn't in the mood for his games though, and began fighting against him.

"Loke! Get off me! I got to get that slip!" Lucy hissed as she pounded against the orange haired man's chiseled chest.

"Nope! You're tough, you can get out of this one…if you want to." Loke replied with a chuckled, his voice getting deeper with the last part. Lucy just mentally rolled her eyes.

"You're right, I am tough. So, if you don't get off me I'll be forced to hurt you." She warned, having stopped beating against his chest. He just smiled down at her.

"Give it your best shot sweet-heart."

With that, Lucy cocked her head back and fired. Her forehead made impact against a very surprised Loke's, and soon she was up off the couch and racing up the stairs to where she thought the Gemini twins were. She wasn't able to see them when Loke had her trapped so she wasn't really sure where they were. They always did stuff like this to her. In fact, whenever Lucy got something new or important they distracted her somehow and ran off with it.

"Damn it! Where could they have gone!?" She cursed under her breath as she entered her empty bed room. She had checked the guest room, other bathroom, and in the downstairs closet. Walking around her room, she tried to stay as quiet as possible so she could listen to see if someone was breathing. Her fine-tuned dragon ears perked up as she heard a small giggle coming from her closet. Walking over as quietly as possible, she threw the doors open and was greeted with two giggling Gemini twins. Grabbing them quickly, she brought them to eye level and held out her free hand.

"Alright, cough it up!" She said in a serious tone. The two just giggled more.

"Jeez, you're getting better at this Lucy!" The two squealed together. "But you still have some stuff to learn! We'd say that Aquarius has it by now and is waiting for you at the river a few miles away from here! You know the one! Good luck!" And with that the two pooffed out of Lucy's tightening grasp and back into their golden key. Sighing, Lucy put the key on her EMPTY key ring as she slowly made her way to her back door. Why? Why did they have to give it to Aquarius of all people? Accepting the beating that was sure to come, Lucy swallowed the lump of spit in the back of her throat, and walked out her back door.

With Natsu, Erza, Gray, Laxus, Mira, Wendy and Lisanna

Natsu was sitting at an empty bench at the train station, thinking. Ever since Lucy had left, it was like Team Natsu changed back into who they normally were. Gray went back to his serious yet fun personality, Erza once again began enjoying Strawberry cake, Mira was the same as she had been (but that was because she had realized Lucy didn't do anything wrong) Wendy was still the same, if a little happier now that they were looking for Lucy, Laxus seemed indifferent, and Lisanna was still the same as she was, never having believed Lucy was a bad person. The only person who wasn't at least a little like how they used to be was Natsu…he seemed…aware. Like he knew something the rest of them didn't. It was actually very odd. Sure, in the following weeks **(That's right! You didn't think all of this happened in a couple of days did you? =P) **since Lucy left the team had kept their hate alive for the blond mage, but slowly it was like the light came back into their eyes. They hadn't formally accepted that what they did was wrong, but they did agree that they needed to save Lucy from a threat she most likely didn't even know about. But still, there was the silent Natsu at the head of the group, always seemingly lost in thought…

_Flash back, the day before the phone call:_

_ "Natsu!" An old voice barked as Natsu was walking out of the guild. He was one of the last people there, like usual, and just about to leave. He had just been thinking about Lucy. He wasn't exactly how he used to be, but he wasn't the same Natsu who was a jerk to the blond mage. Sure, he wanted to make things up to her, but he was still sure he was absolutely right for hating her in the first place. _

_ "What is it gramps?" He asked as he met Makarov. The old man was standing on the bar, unnoticed by the pink haired mage._

_ "Come here. I need to give you something." The old man continued, hiding something behind his back. Natsu raced up to him with a very excited Happy flying quickly behind him. They were soon face-to-face with the old man and eager to receive whatever it was he had to give them (Natsu)._

_ "Close your eyes." The old man commanded, still hiding the item behind his back. Natsu and Happy nodded, and then shut their eyes tightly. Natsu felt something scratchy and rough slide over his head, and then something light resting on his chest. _

_ "Alright, you may open them." Makarov finally said. Quickly opening their eyes, Natsu and Happy quickly looked down at the string necklace now hanging off of Natsu's neck. There was a strange little bed resting at the bottom of the string. Picking it up so he could look at it closer, Natsu saw it was just a simple wooden bead with a few scratches carved into it. Looking at the old man, Natsu spoke in confusion. _

_ "What's this gramps?" _

_ "I sense that something dark has been surrounding the whole guild these past few months. It was especially heavy around you, Natsu." The old man began, picking his words carefully. He didn't want to startle the young man, but he didn't want him to go out into a fight he didn't even know existed. Yes, this was going to be difficult, but he deserved to know. _

_ "Really?" Natsu asked, his eyes wide. _

_ "Yes. It is imperative that you don't tell anyone about this, and that you never take that necklace off. Do you understand me?" The old man began again, now eager to say what he needed to. He felt the noose of time tightening around his neck. Natsu shook his head enthusiastically in agreement. Good boy. "You have to understand that there are people in this world who only desire destruction and hate. They target people like yourself in order to get something they want." He said carefully, Natsu listening intently. "Or someone. You must know that whatever might be coming, in whatever situation you find yourself in, you must always listen to Lucy." _

_ "What?! But she was horrible to the guild too! I mean sure, we were jerks to her, but she acted like she didn't care!" Natsu began, rage rising inside him. Makarov knew this would happen, and silently cursed himself for bringing Lucy up. But he had too. _

_ "Natsu, just promise me that no matter what you do you will protect Lucy with your life should you two ever meet again." He continued. Natsu was about to argue when the old man lost his patience. "Natsu! Those people I told you about are out there and can so easily reach into people like you in order to cause chaos! You must understand that! You are a danger to the entire guild if you don't listen to Lucy! She is the only beacon of light that can save us now! If you go against what she say's we will all fall into chaos and death!" He roared with frustration, his blood pressure rising. His age finally hitting him, he stumbled into Natsu's shocked catch as he fell forward off the bar. Setting the old man on the ground gently, the very shocked Natsu looked into Makarovs wrinkle surrounded eyes. They were old, soft, but fearful. He was serious, and that was enough for Natsu. _

_ "Alright. I'll do it. But…you're right." Natsu replied, barely audible for the last part. He knew he himself had especially been horrible to Lucy…but he didn't know why. No matter how hard he tried to connect the scattered dots in his mind, he couldn't understand why he was so horrible to her. He didn't know the reason. Sure, she began cutting her emotions off from the guild, but that was a far cry for the treatment Natsu had given her. He treated her like she was the worst this this world had created. He made it so everyone else hated her. And now, even if his life depended on it, he couldn't remember why. All he remembered was a blinding hatred for the blond haired girl. No reason. Just hate. _

_ Makarov smiled up at him, and patted his knee being as he was too short to reach Natsu's shoulder. "Thank you. No one else must know about this exchange though, so you two can't say a word to the rest of the guild. Alright?" _

_ "Aye!" Happy and Natsu replied with big smiles, and then they left the guild feeling lighter than they had before. Makarov just started at them as they ran out the guild doors, the dark aura surrounding them vanishing. For now. He knew it would be back, and the necklace would only do so much. Sighing, he began to hobble to his office. It was late and he really should be going to bed soon, but there was just so much to be done. _

_ "Please forgive me for the burden I have placed on you, Natsu." He whispered as he entered his office. Then he closed it gently, locking it behind him. _

Present, the team is at the train station.

"Oi! Flame Brain!" Gray shouted at the zoned out Natsu. Looked up, Natsu glared at his best enemy. They were best friends, and yet the worst of enemies, so the title only seemed appropriate in Natsu's mind.

"What'd you want Ice Princess?" He shot back. Gray just glared at him as he sat next to him on the bench Natsu was currently occupying.

"Why have you been so serious lately?" Gray asked, genuine curiosity in his voice. Natsu just shrugged.

"I don't know. I guess I've just been thinking a lot." He replied. That was kind of the truth. Honestly, it felt like something was trying to get to Natsu, but something else was preventing it from coming. The thing coming at him felt familiar, and Natsu had been desperately trying to figure out what it was.

"Well stop it. You're freaking Wendy out. I think she thinks you're going to kill Lucy the moment you see her." Grey growled back. Natsu shot a glance over a smiling Wendy. _Why on Earth would she think that!? _He demanded in his head, and then all the memories of how horrible he was to Lucy came crashing back down on him and he realized why. He almost did kill her once, didn't he? Holding back a scream of frustration he directed his attention back onto the now shirtless ice mage sitting next to him.

"Well you can tell her there's nothing to worry about." He said with a small smile. Gray returned it, and then began to get up. Unaware of what he was doing, Natsu's hand shot out and grabbed Gray's elbow. Looking down at the now serious looking Natsu, Gray was actually _worried. _

"Gray, have you felt…different since Lucy left?" Natsu asked in a small voice. Shocked, Gray didn't know how to respond. Lucy was a touchy subject in the guild, so he was shocked to hear _Natsu _talking about her. Him of all people! After all, he was the worst one when it came to how the guild treated the blond mage. "Like, lighter?" Natsu continued.

"Y-yeah. It's like…I don't know…it's like I've woken up from a seriously messed up dream." Gray responded, trying to find the words he was looking for to describe the complicated feeling he had felt the past weeks. Natsu nodded.

"Me too…" he replied in a whisper, and then let go of Gray's now bruised elbow.

"Damn it! How hard were you squeezing my elbow!? Look at it! It's all purple!" Gray shouted at the now normal looking fire mage.

"Well, I wanted to make sure you weren't going anywhere!" Natsu shouted back, acting as if the answer were the most obvious thing in the world. (And to his credit, it kind of was.) "Maybe if you'd man up a little you wouldn't bruise so easy!" Natsu smirked.

"Yeah, well maybe if you would just learn to control your idiocy you would know you didn't have to hold on so hard!" Gray shot back, the two boys forehead to forehead.

"You wanna go stripper!?" Natsu snarled with excitement.

"Like I couldn't crush you fire breath!" Gray sneered back.

"You two better not be fighting back there!" Erza shouted, glancing over her shoulder. Instantly the two backed away from each other and began shaking hands like they had just reached an agreement.

"Nope! No fighting here Erza! We were just agreeing that we should never fight again!" Gray said in a fake cheery voice.

"Aye!" Natsu agreed, his own voice laced with an equal level of fakeness as Grays. Nodding her approval, Erza continued her conversation with Mira. The two boys instantly snatched their hands away from each other and began glaring at each other. At least Natsu wasn't thinking anymore.

Soon the train leading to Luck Town came, and the team boarded. It seemed the station was especially busy that day, so they all had to cram themselves into one booth. Gray, Natsu, and Laxus were all squished onto one seat while Mira, Wendy, Erza, and Lisanna were sitting on the other.

"Damn it! Why the hell do these seats have to be so damn small?!" Gray cussed, his mouth running wild. Mira quickly covered Wendy's ears as the rest of the adult women glared at the angry ice mage.

"Don't use language like that around such little ears!" Lisanna scolded, Mira and Erza nodding in agreement.

"Why the hell shouldn't he? Do you see how squished we are!?" Laxus shot back, wiggling in his seat.

"Because! We don't need Wendy to be exposed to such vulgar language!" Erza shot right back, a dangerous aura surrounding her. Natsu (who was sitting by the window so his motion sickness would go out the window and not onto the other boys) just made a gurgling sound.

"You think you're hurting! Try doing this with hips!" Mira shouted back, the other two nodding. Poor Wendy was just looking around with wide eyes, not really sure what was going on.

"…Good point." Gray finally agreed as Natsu jerked violently.

"Don't you dare barf on me hot head!" Gray threatened, shoving Natsu's head out the window. Natsu gave another violent jerk, accidentally elbowing Gray in the chin. Oh boy…here we go….

Zianna was sitting on the crimson couch, reading a book when suddenly it felt like someone had smashed her in the head with a lead hammer. Gasping for air and dropping her book, she fell onto the cold, hard wood flooring.

"Zianna!" A high-pitched voice cackled as the man it belonged to hobbled over to her aid. About to help her up the angered female clawed at him leaving long, bloody scratches all along his cheeks.

"Don't touch me you vile troll!" She hissed as she began to stand. Two other men had come into the room to see what all the commotion was about, and stared down at her as she struggled to lift herself up. Finally at her feet, she slumped against the marble wall, panting hard.

"What is it?" A tall man asked in a business tones voice.

"Th-they're…" The luscious woman began when she was interrupted by a horrible coughing fit. Clamping her white gloved hand over her rose red lips, she waited to continue speaking until she was finished coughing. Finally able to speak again, she pulled her hand away slightly and looked down at it.

"They're waking up." She whispered, reveling her blood stained palm to the others.

**I hope you liked this chapter! I was kind of fighting for words when I wrote this, so if it's a little wonky I'm sorry! Please review and enjoy the next chapters to come! I hope to upload two chapters tomorrow! Thanks for reading and ****PLEASE ****leave reviews! They really do help motivational wise! Love ya! **

**~VampireFluteChick~ **


	9. Flip Side

**Hey Guys, I am so sorry for the late update! I know I said I wanted to get two chapters up the day after I wrote chapter 8, but then life had to get in the way. Also, I got a question an about what happened in the last chapter, so here is clarification to all who are wondering about it. Makarov is the only person in Fairy Tail who knows dark magic was present in the guild. Then, he goes onto tell Natsu. Everyone else on the Special Team (I still haven't given them a name) just feels weird about things. They are all back to normal now, which means they no longer hate Lucy, but that doesn't mean they don't think they did anything wrong. They feel that how they treated Lucy then was the just way to treat her. Well, all but Natsu. EVERYONE agrees he was more horrible to her then he had to be, and so with this knowledge and weird feelings they just feel like something might have been off. THEY HAVE NO CLUE THEY WERE SUROUNDED BY DARK MAGIC! ONLY MAKAROV AND NATSU KNOW THAT!**

**So, there you go. Sorry to raise my voice but I wanted the message to be clear. That, and people only read capped words. Now, onto a happier note! Here is Chapter 9: Flip Side**

**I haven't done this in a while. I do not own Fairy Tail, nor have I ever owned Fairy Tail! **

Chapter 9: Flip Side

_Recap:_

"_Gray, have you felt…different since Lucy left?" Natsu asked in a small voice. Shocked, Gray didn't know how to respond. Lucy was a touchy subject in the guild, so he was shocked to hear Natsu talking about her. Him of all people! After all, he was the worst one when it came to how the guild treated the blond mage. "Like, lighter?" Natsu continued. _

_ "Y-yeah. It's like…I don't know…it's like I've woken up from a seriously messed up dream." Gray responded, trying to find the words he was looking for to describe the complicated feeling he had felt the past weeks. Natsu nodded. _

_ "Me too…" he replied in a whisper…_

"_Th-they're…" The luscious woman began when she was interrupted by a horrible coughing fit. Clamping her white gloved hand over her rose red lips, she waited to continue speaking until she was finished coughing. Finally able to speak again, she pulled her hand away slightly and looked down at it._

_ "They're waking up." She whispered, reveling her blood stained palm to the others._

Chapter 9: Flip Side

"W-what do you mean they're waking up?" The ugly, grotesque man with the high pitch voiced asked in alarm.

"What do you think I mean Fluso, you wretched troll!" Zianna screamed back. Then another coughing fit hit her. Doubling over from the pain, more blood splashed onto the black hard wood floors. Almost everything in the mansion was back. The only exceptions where the splashs of white thrown off by the rare white pillars and the occasional white accent on a pitch black vase. Other than that the house was clad in an assortment of blacks, greys, and crimson. The woman herself was very pale and wearing a tight black dress that showed off her curves. The neckline plummeted down to her blood-diamond pierced bellybutton, showing off her normal sized chest. There was a long slit up the side of the skirt of the dress, her pale leg seemingly glowing against the darkness of the fabric. Her heals were tall, narrow, and black with blood-diamonds sewn into the straps holding them onto her pedicured feet. The same diamonds hugged her throat in a seductively dangerous choker. Her lips too were pitch black, matching her long, straight hair that hung to the base of her butt. Her eye lashed were long and full, reaching up to the base of her graceful eyebrows. She wore sparkling crimson eye shadow to bring out the red accents in her pitch black eyes. However, the most memorable trait about this seductively dangerous woman was the heart of small blood-diamonds that framed the center of her lips, earning her the nick name, "Queen of Hearts" That, and her unquenchable thirst for blood and destruction of all light.

"Here, let me help you." The man with the business voice said softly, reaching down to help her back into a standing position.

"Thank you, Chaizein." She replied, a flirtatious smile appearing dangerously on her lips. The man named Chaizein just nodded, and then stood back and away from her. He, unlike most males, was not drawn to her. In fact, he had a slight dislike for her.

He was sturdily built with trimmed back hair the color of snow. His skin took on a tan shade, making it so his now white tie was more noticeable. His black suit was pressed and crisp to match his hair, and his black leather shoes were polished. His eyes were a light shade of white, giving them a sort of translucent look. His lips were pale and he had no tattoos or piercings. If you were to look at him as you passed by him on a crowded street, you would just assume he was a kind business man who gave frequent donations to the orphanage and was willing to listen to anyone. However, these thoughts would instantly vanish as you witnessed his white veins glowing under his darker skin, his most unique characteristic. After seeing these, you would know that this was not a normal business man, but the ruthless killer, "Plagued Blood." Yes, Chaizein had a strong attraction to poison of all types. "It makes for clean killings" – Chaizein Poisonstruck.

"What the hell do you mean they're waking up Zianna!?" Jason hissed, grabbing at her blood stained hand violently, restating the question stated by Fluso. Fluso was indeed a troll, but that meant that he had magic no wizard could even hope to possess. He also bore a strong liking the stunning Zianna, poor fool. He had green skin with warts popping up in some of the most bizarre places, and his feet were abnormally large. His stringy brown hair resembled that of fallen twigs, and his large nose gave the impression of a pale mushroom. His lips were dry and crackly to match his high pitched voice, and he was no taller than two and a half feet, allowing him to dodge deadly attacks. Zianna always seemed to get him though. Fluso's most recognizable feature were his eyes though. They were the clearest rainbow of colors condensed into one thin ring around his black pupil, earning him the name, "Rotting Life"

"I…I don't know how!" Zianna shrieked in surprise at Jason's sudden outburst. He was always so upbeat about things that whenever he was angry it always scared her. She would never tell, but secretly she was in the love with the powerful Fairy Prince of the Fairy's and King of the Shadow Realm. She knew that when Lucy finally returned to him, they would fully put their brilliant plan into action, and soon they would rule the world. Jason, of course, would be King of that new world, but what of his queen? And what of a mother to Lucy? Yes, once they finally ruled the world she would rein as queen next to King Jason and Princess Lucy. She had met Lucy only once, when the girl was a young child, but could tell that they would get along just fine. Not that that mattered much, but it would still be nice. They would be the most powerful family the world has ever seen, and she was looking forward to the bright darkness her future held. So, as she stared at the stunningly attractive man in front of her she couldn't help but feel a rush of shivers running through her bones as he stared at her with anger.

Throwing her hand back at her, he looked her dead in the eye, something only suicidal men did. "I though you said no one could break your magic, not even Makarov." He seethed.

"Yes, I did say that, and it is true." She began to reply, her usually rich voice rising in the back of her throat. "No one can fully break my magic, but they can somehow prevent it after I have pulled it away." She finished in a soft whisper.

"So what you're saying is that you took the Black Rain off of Fairy Tail?" Jason asked in a dangerously calm tone. Zianna, helpless in her fight, only nodded in shame. "Why the HELL did you do that!?" Jason roared at her, his magical energy spinning out of control inside him.

Beginning to be squashed under the enormous weight of Jason's magical energy, Zianna couldn't take it. "Do you think it's easy covering a whole guild and every one inside with the Black Rain!?" Zianna screamed back, her blood roaring in her ears as a blush threatened to rise up in her cheeks. He just looked so dangerous, like he was about to destroy a whole city. She craved destruction with every ounce of her being, and he reeked of its delicious scent.

He just looked at her, his bright green eyes deep in thought. Then, he sighed, and smiled a bright white smile. She just about melted. Then, slowly he reached out and grabbed her blood stained hand, and grasped it gently in his own, looking at the blood with concern.

"I know. I'm sorry. We all have been working around the clock for over three years now. Your magic energy must be drained. I remember that when I asked you to place the Dark Rain on that wretched guild in the third year, you told me it would be taxing on your magical energy and that you could only withstand the strain for so long. I agreed, and told you that as soon as they kicked Lucy out you could take the Rain off." He continued in a soft, kind voice, his magical energy settling inside him. Zianna just stood there and nodded like a fool, petrified at his gently touch. Well, that and how tired she was. Seeing as Lucy had only left the guild two weeks earlier she had been keeping the Black Rain pouring constantly in Fairy Tail for about a year. Literally, a black storm only she could see was raging in Fairy Tail. It took and estimation of six months for it to actually coat such a large area, and then it took three more months to slowly soak into anything living in that area. And then, after all that was complete, the Black Rain would finally kick in. You see, the way the Black Rain worked was it allowed Zianna to seemingly control the emotions of everything the rain covered. Even plants were subjective to her will. And so, her will was for the whole guild of Fairy Tail to hate Lucy, leading to her eventual dismissal from the Guild. But, there was a certain little…catch…that made it so the Black Rain could not be stopped once it had begun. You see, even though it was Zianna's will for everyone to hate Lucy, the people the rain controlled were still able to make their own decisions. Sure, over all they hated Lucy, but to the degree and how they showed it was all up to them. Natsu was especially blackened as the rain set in.

He was so full of light and love for the blond mage that when she seemingly dismissed them, it broke his heart. She was his best friends, and now it seemed that he was nothing to her. He would have been nasty to her without the rain, so being soaked in its darkness was the ultimate mixture for destruction and darkness, and Zianna loved it. She started paying special attention to him, and began to increase how much of the Black rain was actually soaking into Natsu. However, this came at a price. See, in order for this to happen Zianna had to lessen the amount of rain on one person in order to fully infect another. That was how Mira was able to wake before anyone else in the guild. It had hit Zianna hard in the stomach to feel the white haired mage waking up, but she didn't care. All she wanted was to see how far she could push Natsu before he cracked under the Black Rains deadly weight. All that time though she knew there were others she should be trying to infect. Wendy being one of them. That child was so full of light that the black rain just evaporated off her skin. The next person was Lisanna, however it was obvious why the rain didn't take any effect on her. She didn't know Lucy enough to hate her, so that in itself made it so Zianna's will had no effect on her, allowing her and Lucy to become great friends. Then, there was the great and powerful Makarov. This still puzzled her. The rain soaked into him like all the others, and yet her will had no effect on him. And without her evil will, the rain held no affect. It was as if he had something on him that made it so that the rain no longer obeyed her will…

"Why don't you go and get some rest? Evil knows you need it." Jason said, his handsome smile still on his lips. Gently letting go off a very shocked Zianna's hand, she nodded numbly and mumbled something. Then, she walked past the other two people in the lounge and out the door into a large hall that lead to more rooms. At the very end of it was a spiraling stair case that lead the second floor where all the bedrooms where. So, walking tiredly down the hall all her tiered brain could think of was Jason.

_"Yes, that does sound lovely. Zianna Darkbright. Yes, that is amazing! Soon I will have you to myself, and we will be one happy family." _

In the lounge with Jason, Chaizein, and Fuso….

Once Zianna left Jason sighed once more and belly flopped onto the fancy crimson couch, obviously tired.

"What is it your highness?" Chaizein asked curiously, stepping away from the wall he was standing by. He walked over the couch, and then sat down near Jason's feet. Fuso just watched the two, his thoughts centered on Zianna.

"Nothing. I'm just tired. It isn't easy killing someone and then morphing into their shape. Besides, I haven't been getting much sleep these last few nights." Jason replied, his voice muffled by the plush cushions his face was buried in.

"I understand sir. Please, go on if you wish." Chaizein replied formally. Jadon rolled his eyes even though you couldn't see it at his comrade's reply. From the day they first banded together he had insisted Chaizein step around his formalities and simply talk to him like a normal being. However, being how Chaizein was he still referred to Jason as, "Your Highness,", or, "Sir". At first it annoyed the young Fairy, but he soon just accepted the titles and moved on. He wasn't friends with any of his ally's, but that didn't mean he wanted them to stay away. No, he wanted to get as close to them as possible so he would have an easier time killing them when their plan succeeded. He was certain the rest of them were thinking the same thing though, so he tried to remain looking young and naive as he tried to get closer to all of them. In the three years he had known them Fuso considered him like a brother and Zianna had fallen madly in love with him. However, Chaizein had remained at arm's length the whole time. So now Jason was simply giving another attempt to crack his comrade's protective shell.

"You see my dear comrade, I am afraid of facing my young daughter Lucy." Jason replied, looking up from the couch cushion. He himself was only thirty-two, so he knew that would be the typical answer from any scared father of his age. In all reality though, he just wanted to see if he could break away another piece of Chaizein's armor. It seemed to be working as the older man smiled softly back at him. Chaizein was the first man to join in Jason's plot for world domination, and he was still the one with the most distant.

"Ahhh, I see. There is nothing to worry about sir. I'm sure she'll love to finally meet you, and will want to be a part of a true family again." Chaizein replied. Jason mentally nodded. A safe answer.

"Thank you, I'm sure you're right." Jason replied safely. It was clear the conversation wasn't leasing anywhere, so he just stood up off the couch and addressed the two other people in the room.

"Well, seeing as it is very late I am retiring to my bedroom for the night." He said, and then quickly left the room. It was only three days till Saturday, and he knew he would need all the rest he could get for that day.

In the train with Natsu, Erza, Lisanna, Gray, Laxus, Wendy, and Mira….

"Did you just elbow me on purpose!?" Gray screamed at the now _very _green Natsu. Unable to respond without losing his extremely large lunch, poor Natsu just hung out the window and waited for Gray to hit him back. However, the blow never came.

"Well what do you think!? You just basically shoved him out a moving train!" Lisanna yelled back at Gray, annoyed with the whole thing. Laxus gave a stiff nod in agreement, causing Gray's eyes to widen.

"Who's side are you even on!?" He yelled. Laxus just smirked at him.

"My own. All of you are so lame. I'm just here because Gramps said I had to be."

The train gave a sudden lurch as they hit a bump sending poor Natsu's back into the roof of then his chest into the base of the open window.

"Mrrffff!" He cried out in pain, his voice muffled by his motion sickness. Mira took her hands off a very confused Wendy's ears, and began patting Natsu's back sympathetically.

"I know you hate this, but it's for a good cause. We're going to save Lucy!" Mira said with excitement. Wendy bobbed her head up and down, eager to see her best friend again. Erza just nodded, giving a small smile. Gray smiled slightly and even Laxus gave a small nod in agreement. They all missed Lucy, and couldn't wait to see her again. Sure they were horrible to her in the past, but now they were trying to put things behind them. The past is the past, and if you keep living it you'll miss out on your future.

"I'm so excited to see her again!" Wendy cried out in delight, clapping her hands with enthusiasm.

"Me too! I wonder how she's been!" Lisanna agreed, giving a bright smile. Mira nodded.

"I hope she's been well." Erza stated, still smiling.

"What if she joined another guild…" Gray began, but then they all just laughed. Lucy would never do that. There were a lot of things they didn't understand about Lucy, but they were absolutely right about that. She loved Fairy Tail with all her heart, and would never leave it. The train gave another hiccup, this time sending Natsu's foot into Gray's chin not-so-much-on-accident.

"What the hell Natsu! We all know you did that on purpose!" Gray shouted at the now semi-smiling Natsu while holding his bruised jaw.

"What…get…shoving…out window….like that!" Natsu panted back in between his spells of motion sickness.

"I ought to punch your face in…" Gray growled earning a loud laugh from all four of the girls and small smile from Laxus.

Alright, same day at….Lucy's house!

"Get back here!" Aquarius shouted in rage as Lucy ran from the geyser heading straight for her face. "Don't be such a wimp!"

"But I don't want to die! All I want is my paper back!" Lucy cried out, narrowly dodging a blast of water to the stomach.

"Just man up and get it! If you die at least you can say you died for a good cause!" Aquarius shouted back, floating in the middle of the semi-small lake with the slip of paper in her left hand, and her vase in her right. "It's from your father!" She continued as Lucy once again dodged another one of her attacks. But as soon as she heard that she stopped, stood up from behind the tree she was hiding behind, and began to walk over to the edge of the lake.

"W-what?" She asked in a cold stutter. It was late at night and the temperature was rapidly decreasing.

"I said it was from your father. Your real one." Aquarius shot back with a smirk. Right as she was about to hit the shocked blond mage square in the chest Lucy was suddenly gone. Sensing her masters presence at the other side of the lake, the water spirit quickly turned around only to see the lake freezing as Lucy plunged her hand into its waters. Before she could react the ice incased Aquarius's body, ultimately allowing Lucy to walk across the glassy surface of the lake and up to the frozen mermaid. Setting her hand on fire, she slowly began to melt away at the ice incasing her spirits left hand. Once the ice was gone, Lucy pried the stubborn woman's fingers apart and snatched the note. Then, with blinding speed she was at the edge of the lake, her fire hand plunged into the frozen water, quickly melting it. Aquarius fell into the lake with a large splash, and then scowled at Lucy before she was forced back into her key by the blond mage's magical energy. Aquarius's key formed in Lucy's now out stretched hand. Smiling, she nodded and attached the golden key back to her now fully complete ring of keys. As she was running down to confront the powerful water spirit she had faced all her other spirits and forced them back into their keys. Even Leo returned to his key after about an hour.

"There. See! I AM getting better!" Lucy said happily to her keys. They flashed and glimmered in agreement. Nodding, Lucy shakily got to her feet and unfolded the slightly damp note. Pulling it up to her face, she began reading.

_My Dearest Lucy, _

_ By the time you read this I am sure you have realized Jude Heartfilia is not your true father. However, I don't know exactly what that man told you when you met with him today. I miss you and want you to join me for tea and cake this Saturday so I can see just how much you have grown, and to hopefully convince you to join me and reunite as a family. _

_Your Loving Father, _

_Jason Darkbright_

Lucy's eyes widened as she read the note. Shaking her head, she read it again, and again. She could feel the love pouring out of each letter, the true measurement of truth to her father's words. Silent tears slipped from her tired eyes, and she quickly tucked the note safely away with her teacup fragment, her hand resting on the small piece of porcelain. To think she had started this journey with a guild who hated her with every ounce of their being, only to have it lead into a meeting with her true, loving father. Smiling, she began the trek back to her house. It wasn't far, but forcing very independent spirits back into their keys had drained almost three fourths of her magical energy, and therefore making her extremely tired. With her father's loving words in her mind, she thought of all the wonderful things they would do together once they reunited as she walked.

**Hey guys, I just have to tell you that I don't like this chapter very much. I am sleep deprived and having writers block. School is starting back up in a day so I most likely won't be able to update as fast as I normally have been. Hopefully the next few chapters will revive me like I think they will, so you'll just have to bear with me as we go through this most likely sucky chapter. In all reality, this chapter is just for clarification. It doesn't really further the plot but it needed to be done. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy this chapter even though I don't like it. Thanks. **

**~VampireFluteChick~**


	10. Blood Bound Friends

**Hey everyone! School started back up again, so I had to write this chapter after I got everything done. I've gotten my inspiration back too! At least for now. I really owe it all the amazingly kind reviews I've gotten! Thank you so much for your reviews! They mean a lot to me! So, I hope you enjoy this chapter! Chapter 10: Blood Bound Friends**

_Recap:  
My Dearest Lucy, _

_ By the time you read this I am sure you have realized Jude Heartfilia is not your true father. However, I don't know exactly what that man told you when you met with him today. I miss you and want you to join me for tea and cake this Saturday so I can see just how much you have grown, and to hopefully convince you to join me and reunite as a family. _

_Your Loving Father, _

_Jason Darkbright_

_ Lucy's eyes widened as she read the note. Shaking her head, she read it again, and again. She could feel the love pouring out of each letter, the true measurement of truth to her father's words. Silent tears slipped from her tired eyes, and she quickly tucked the note safely away with her teacup fragment, her hand resting on the small piece of porcelain. To think she had started this journey with a guild who hated her with every ounce of their being, only to have it lead into a meeting with her true, loving father. Smiling, she began the trek back to her house. It wasn't far, but forcing very independent spirits back into their keys had drained almost three fourths of her magical energy, and therefore making her extremely tired. With her father's loving words in her mind, she thought of all the wonderful things they would do together once they reunited as she walked._

Present: With Lucy in her bedroom…

Lucy lay on her bed, quietly sleeping away the soreness burning in her muscles from her late night trek back to her house. Most of it was up hill, sometimes at a shockingly sleep angle. When she finally reached her house she was basically a zombie, her stomach growling for any type of meat and she was walking around half asleep. After she entered her kitchen she sloppily cooked herself a whole chicken she had bought while she was furniture shopping. Once it was cooked (which was very fast considering she used her fire dragon roar) she inhaled the whole thing, threw out the bare bones, and tripped her way up the suddenly endless stairs into her bedroom. With each step she took more and more of her magical energy was being converted into the physical energy she needed to keep moving. The process of this happening took a considerable amount of energy itself, so by the time she had flopped down in her bed she was completely drained of magical energy and basically in a coma do to how tired she was. So now, with the light blaring in her closed eyes all she did was let out a soft groan and shuffle to the other end of her bed, out of the suns reach. But with each hour passing the sun continued to come up, its rays growing longer and longer until Lucy eventually rolled off her bed and onto the floor in a tangle of blankets.

"Awe man…." Lucy groaned again, covering her eyes tiredly with her soft hand. After laying there in her heap of blanket for about ten minutes, she finally decided the floor was too cold and got up. Shuffling over to her bathroom, she grabbed her towel and locked herself in the cream colored room. The sounds of a hot water splashing the inside of her pristine white tub echoing densely through her house. Inside the semi-large room she slip out of her pj's and into the now full tub of hot water. Being a dragon slayer it took a lot for something to get through her tough skin, so the water had to be at a temperature that would burn normal mages. However, as Lucy grew older she noticed she had to keep increasing the temperature of her bath water. In the past all she needed to be happy was maybe a little over the normal temperature, but now she needed it to be, well, boiling in order for it to get through her tough skin. Thinking of this as she slid into the steaming water, Lucy sunk down deeper and deeper until the tips of her toes where poking out of the water, little red stubs against the cream bathroom walls. Well, at least that's what she expected. However, her eyes widened as she witnessed the black color her toes were dawning.

"It's getting worse." She said out loud, her voice sounding amplified in the nearly silent room. Normally she liked the quiet, but now it just tore away at her melancholy demeanor. Deciding she didn't much feel like a bath any more, she began to drain the tub. Beginning to stand up, she took in deep, slow breaths. The steam suddenly became like a poisonous fog, clouding her mind as she desperately tried to slow her rapidly increasing heart rate. The room began to spin as she collapsed back into the remnants of water in the now ice cold tub. That was one thing she never got used to. The cold. It was so numbing. Unfeeling. It was so…so…_dead._

Reaching out to her left she tried to grasp her towel that lay just out of her reach on the sink counter. Blackness began eating away at her vision as the tiled floor of the too hot and too cold bathroom began to tilt and bubble. Double vision tinted her mind and she hadn't realized how fast she was taking in insignificant, shallow breaths. The water completely drained from the tub, the hyperventilating mage fell onto her back, sharp jolts of pain shooting up her surly bruised spine. Now completely in a panic, her sharp breaths began to beat out of time as they became shorter and more ragged. Her lungs screamed at her foggy brain, demanding she intake a descent amount of oxygen. However, unable to focus on anything but the painfully slow consumption of the blackness that now not only covered her toes, but her entire foot and was still working its way up her calf. Lucy only had enough focus to scream one thing in her frazzled mind as her tunnel vision came crashing down in a ton of black bricks.

_"What the hell is going on!?" _

With Grey, Natsu, Laxus, Erza, Mira, Lisanna, and Wendy the same morning, just a few hours before Lucy passed out in her bath….

The train pulled into the station late last night so the gang had to find a hotel to stay at while they waited for the sun to come up. As day brake finally broke Natsu jumped out of the bed he was sharing with Grey and walked to the front of it where Laxus slept on the floor. The team had decided that since there were only three boys, they only needed a small room with one bed while the girls got a normal sized one with two. The girl's room was on the fifth floor of the tall building while the boys were stuck on the seventh floor. They agreed they would meet up at the hotel restaurant at nine in the morning, and would begin making their way to Lucy's house at around ten. Knowing how late she likes to sleep in, they wanted to give her time to do so.

"Hey Laxus, its 7:30 in the morning!" Natsu yelled happily as he gave the sleeping Dragon Slayer a rough kick to the ribs.

"What the hell was that for you damn moron!?" Laxus screamed at the now laughing Natsu as he bolted from the floor. His hands flew to his ribs where Natsu had kicked him.

"Sorry! You wouldn't wake up any other way!" Natsu lied knowing damn well he didn't try any other form of attempt to wake the sleeping mage. Gray, not caring for Natsu's well-being, smirked.

"Did not. You just got up, walked over to him, and gave him a Lucy kick to the ribs." Gray spoke. Even though Lucy left the guild, almost every male was afraid of her famous, "Lucy Kicks." One of those to the royal jewels and you were no longer able to have royal kids…

Laxus glared up at Natsu, his magical energy beginning to roll off him a waves. Natsu didn't mind it though. Laxus was just trying to scare him.

"You damn idiot! I'm going to pound your head in when I wake up!" Laxus hissed at Natsu, clearly stating how he was going back to sleep soon. Gray gave out a loud laugh as he saw Natsu begin to sweat in fear. Then Laxus turned his death glare towards the snickering ice mage. "I wouldn't be laughing if I was you. After I'm done with him, you're next." He hissed, instantly shutting Gray up. Then he tipped back onto his un-damaged side and fell asleep, hiding his face in his cloak.

"Hey, what the hell?! You can't just go back to sleep!" Natsu screamed, not done with this conversation with the lighting bold blond mage. He raised his foot high, about to kick Laxus again. This time he was determined to feel a few bones snap when Gray suddenly tackled him to the ground.

"What the hell do you think you're doing flame brain?!" The mostly naked ice mage roared at the shocked fire Dragon Slayer. Gray was on top of Natsu, pinning him to the ground with an ice dagger in his hand, its sharp tip pointing dangerously close to Natsu's neck. However, Natsu could only focus on one thing.

"Why the hell are you on top of me!?" He hissed, and then his eyes went wide with a mixture of shock and fear, greatly confusing Gray. _What is he thinking? _The ice mage thought as he waited for Natsu's next words.

"You're gay! I knew it! Help! Help! Get this gay pervert off of me! HELP!" Natsu began screaming as he flailed his arms around as best he could. Fully understanding what was happening, Gray leapt back in shock and fear. The ice dagger melted in his violently shaking hand.

"I AM NOT GAY!" He screamed at Natsu. The fire mage was suddenly on his feet with a fist full of fire pointed dangerously at the still shaking Gray.

"Sure! That's what all gay perverts say before they attack!" Natsu stammered, fully believing the thought that Gray had suddenly turned gay. "Boy, Juvia sure is going to be sad when she hears about this."

"I told you I AM NOT GAY!" Gray shouted back even louder now as he kicked Natsu in the jaw, sending the fire mage flying into the wall. Recovering quickly, Natsu stared at Gray with a look of ultimate distain on his face. It wasn't the fact that he though Gray was gay, but the fact that he had just given him a serious kick to the face.

"Fine, so you're not gay." Natsu growled, his jaw throbbing slightly. "That doesn't mean you aren't a pervert though."

"Shut up fire breath! I am not a pervert!" Gray hissed back, chucking a row of ice daggers in Natsu's general direction. Melting them quickly with a fire punch, Natsu continued to stare at Gray with loathing clear on his face.

"Yes you are! Who else roams around in his boxers in public!?" Natsu countered, a childish grin plastered evilly on his face.

"We've been over this! It's a habit!" Gray seethed back.

"Yeah? And you know what I say to that? Yeah right! I bet you do it just to get attention from the girls!" Natsu accused, chucking a ball of fire strait at Grays head. The ice mage easily put it out with a little bit of ice breath.

"You would know, walking around with your chest exposed like that! You're practically begging for people to look at your six pack!" Gray raged back, and then suddenly wished he hadn't said anything at all as Natsu's eyes widened again and he began backing away quickly.

"So I was right the first time! You are gay! You've been checking me out this whole time!" He screamed as he backed into a wall.

"I AM NOT GAY DAMN IT!"

With the girls in their room…

Erza and Mira were the first two to wake up. Used to being the early birds of the guild, they took turns in the shower and then calmly woke Lisanna, deciding to let Wendy sleep.

"It's your turn in the shower." Mira told her sister lovingly. Lisanna just nodded groggily and shuffled her way into the bathroom with her bag. Soon you could hear the shower running as she began her normal morning routine.

"Hey Erza, do you have any perfume on you?" Mira asked, noticing how much she smelt like a train. The train they had rode all night had this certain… mechanic… smell to it and now it was imbedded in almost all her clothing since her suitcase was the one at the bottom of the pile when they loaded it into their train's luggage compartment. Erza nodded and began digging in one of her multiple bags that were strewn about the room. Finally finding the small, elegant bottle she was hunting for, she handed it to a grateful Mira. Spritzing herself, the white haired woman inhaled the dainty sent deeply and sighed. It smelt like a roaring battle in the middle of one of the most beautiful sunsets you could imagine. Perfect for her, and perfect for Erza.

"Thank you." She smiled as she handed the nearly empty bottle back to the red haired mage. They were both dressed in armor today. Mira decided a dress wouldn't be practical for a mission, and lugged out her old trunk full of armor she had long ago given up. She had selected a few pieces and packed them away in a separate suitcase, the one that ended up being at the bottom of the gang's pile of luggage. Today she had decided to where her most comfortable set, seeing as they were only going to retrieve Lucy. They didn't plan on fighting anyone today, but she would carry around her strongest armor in her purse just in case, seeing as it was light weight enough. Unlike Erzas armor that was rare and powerful, Mira's was like clothing and only blocked swords, arrows, and other non-magical weapons. In all reality it was just a backup plan in case she came into a non-magical situation. Today she was wearing her pitch black tight body suit. It covered her up nicely with short sleeves and breathed with every one of her movements. Over this unfortunately unattractive armor she wore a girly shirt that fit her nicely and a pair of loose fitting jeans. Somehow she managed to look elegant and natural at the same time. But of course she did. She was Mirajane after all. On her feet were comfortable and yet stylish boots with small heels, the light shade of brown complimenting her outfit nicely.

Erza was in her normal look. Hair down, armor on. She was brushing her teeth furiously, determined to vanquish any cavities that might be forming, and possible a thin layer of her gums…

"Whoa there Erza! Calm down! You're just brushing your teeth!" Lisanna cried playfully as she exited the shower and toilet section of the bathroom. She was already dressed in her panties and bra, and her short hair was wrapped up in a fluffy white towel. Erza finished scrubbing her teeth and spit before she roared her reply.

"NO! CAVITIES ARE THE RESULT OF THAT SORT OF LAZY THINKING, AND CAVITIES RESULT IN TOOTH ACHE AND DECAY! AND THAT RESULTS IN LESS TEETH TO EAT PRECIOUS STRAWBERRY CAKE WITH!"

The now shaking Lisanna just nodded vigorously and quickly made her way to Mira and Erza's empty bed that was serving as a table to lay possible outfits out on. Listening to Erza continuing her scrubbing, the white haired mage selected a nice blue T-shirt with denim capris, completed with white lace toms. It was summer and she was going to enjoy the warm weather while it lasted. After finishing dressing, the white haired mage cautiously walked over to the now vacant sink, Erza shooting her a dangerous look on her journey there. As she reached the sink she took her brush and began attacking her damp hair. After a few minutes of careful yet powerful brushing her white hair was in its normal look, she took out her own tooth brush and went to scrub her teeth when she heard Erza clear her throat loudly behind her. Well…it was more of a growl…but Lisanna took the hint and began scrubbing her teeth Erza style. Mira and the now awake Wendy held back laughs from the other side of the room.

In the Hotel restaurant…

The boys toppled into one side of a booth while the girls sat politely across from them, Erza glaring at them from under her falling bangs. The boys (Gray and Natsu) stopped their fighting as they felt "the glare" and sat silently next to each other. Or, at least until Erza put her menu in front of her face, blocking the two from her line of vision.

"Are you ready to order?" A friendly voice asked as the two began elbowing and punching each other once again. Erza set her menu down quickly and looked up at the nice looking waitress standing in front of their table.

"Yes, we are." She replied, Gray and Natsu cussing silently in their heads. They had been so wrapped up in their fight they didn't look at their menus. Gulping, they each grabbed for their menus in a panic and began looking for something to eat. Laxus smirked at them, imagining how funny their faces would look when Erza was yelling at them for fighting. It was going to be great.

"I would like ten large pieces of strawberry cake with once cup of coffee please." Erza finished, making the waitress a little nervous. Before she could ask if Erza was feeling well though (that had happened once on another mission…that poor waitress…) Mira quickly jumped in with her order. Wendy and Laxus quickly followed suit, and then they were all staring at Gray and Natsu.

"Well?" Erza asked impatiently as a one minuet silence stretched over the group.

"Umm…well…you see…umm…damn..." Gray began to sputter out an explanation when Natsu cut him off.

"We were wondering if we could have one of everything!?" He blurted out, shocking the entire group and making the nice waitress nearly faint. _How crazy are these people!? _She screamed in her head, her pen and notepad dropping unintentionally out of her visibly shaking hand. After quickly retrieving it from the floor, she stood there and watched as Erza just stared at the pink haired boy, her face serious. Then it broke out into a proud smile.

"Of course!" She beamed, the rest of the group letting out their held breath. Even Laxus was happy they had avoid the sure carnage that would have followed if the silence had stretched on. Even though Gray and Natsu's faces would be epic, they wouldn't be prize enough to cover up the mental scarring that would surly set in.

"T-thank you!" Natsu and Gray squeaked out in unison. Erza finished the order, and then basically shooed the waitress away. The group chatted amongst themselves while they waited for their food to arrive, and when it did it was quite the show. It looked as if the whole staff had to join in bringing seemingly endless platters to the table of waiting mages. At soon as the smell of food hit his nose Natsu began to drool ever so slightly on Gray's shoulder. He was going to be ticked once he realized it, but his gaze was captivated by how much food was being shoved onto the small table. Once all the food had arrived, Natsu basically claimed the entire table for himself, barley giving his fellow teammates time to grab their plates and bolt to the booth next door. Mira was the last one to leave the table and almost caught a chocolate milkshake to the nose. Everyone else in the restaurant had their eyes glued to the fire dragon slayer as he inhaled the feast.

"Jeez, how can he hold all that?" Laxus questioned, a look of distain on his face. It was very similar to some of the looks the other guest were giving, but then there were those others who just stared at Natsu in pure awe and admiration.

"I think it has to do with the fact he's a fire dragon slayer specifically. Maybe he burns caloriesfaster than the rest of us." Lisanna spoke. "I mean, like, _a lot _faster." She specified as Laxus gave her a "no-duh" face.

"Yeah, I think you're right. Jeez, he's kind of scary…" Wendy agreed, looking at the now half empty table Natsu was sitting at.

"I don't care how he can eat so much! I only care about eating too!" Gray roared as he unknowingly threw his shirt onto the table in rage as he charged over to Natsu.

"Hey flame brain! Save some for me would ya?!" He barked as he sat down on the bench opposite of the one Natsu was occupying.

"Yeah!? Well you better hurry up and eat because I'm about to inhale the rest of this stuff!" Natsu sneered back after swallowing his twentieth pancake. Hearing the challenge in his rival/best friend's words, Gray began inhaling food almost as fast as Natsu. Almost.

The table was empty in less than five minutes since Gray decided to join in on feasting, and all that was left of the glorious meal were four sky scraper piles of dirty dishes and two stuffed male mages.

"Alright, let's pay and head out." Lisanna declared as she stood up and away from her own dirty plate, the other three people sitting at her table doing the same. After Gray and Natsu joined them, they made their way to the cash register and paid for the gigantic meal. Once that was out of the way they began their way towards Lucy's house. Outside a cab waited for them, as requested by Erza that morning when they were handing their keys into the front desk. Piling in, Natsu, Lisanna, Laxus, Gray, and Wendy were stuck in the back with all of the luggage while Erza sat up front in the passenger seat directing where to go. The group in the back weren't sure who had it worse. Them for being stuck with a bunch of luggage, or the cab driver for having to sit next to Erza, one of the pickiest drivers in the world.

The ride lasted about an hour and a half, and everyone was surprised to see how well Natsu was dealing with the drive. It seemed cabs didn't have an ill-inducing effect on the fire dragon slayer. Finally feeling the car come to a halt, they group piled out onto the forest floor, drowning in luggage mostly belonging to Erza.

"Whoa! Would you look at this place!?" Natsu spoke in awe as he finally stood. He started at the beautiful house in front of them. Happy to finally have the chance to smooth things over with their lost friend, the group trudged up to Lucy's front door and knocked excitedly. When no one answered, Wendy's smile fell into a deep frown.

"Maybe she isn't home…."

BANG!

"There you go Wendy! The door's open!" Natsu declared with his trade mark smile as he kicked the door in. Then he walked into the silent house, not bothering to see if the rest of his wide eyed friends had followed him.

"Luuuuccccccyyyyyy!" He called out, his voice echoing loudly through the finely furnished house. When he didn't get a reply kick or scream in surprise, he began to move deeper into the house. "Lucy! Where are you!?"

"Shut up idiot! What if she's sleeping or something!?" Gray barked as he charged after the wondering Natsu. However, already in the writing room (the room with the fire place and Lucy's desk. Lucy thought the name would be perfect for the room.) Natsu and Gray began to fight about who was being the loudest.

"Well, I guess we all should look around then." Lisanna said with a loud sigh at her friend's actions. The group nodded, and split up with Wendy, Mira, and Lisanna taking the upstairs while Erza and Laxus joined Natsu and Gray in their search of the main level.

Erza began searching the room she was in. Knowing Lucy, she could very well be out shopping or working at the moment so she wanted to see if she could find any hint at where her friend might be. Laxus took to the kitchen, looking around for the same sort of thing. Gray and Natsu were still busy fighting in front of the grand fire place, forgetting the reason they were there.

Erza sighed as she walked into the kitchen, startling Laxus. Quickly pulling his hand out of the open pantry, Erza could just catch a marcel of a glimpse at the three chocolate chip cookies he was clutching in his large hand.

"I didn't find anything in the sitting room." She declared in defeat, hanging her head in shame. Laxus quickly finished chewing the cookie in his mouth before he replied.

"Same here, and I doubt those two idiots have even looked around." He said, pointing to the still fighting friends with his free hand.

"LUCY!"

The high pitched scream hung in the air, the four people on the main level freezing in their tracks at Wendy's high pitched scream. Normally, Carla would have flown down by now with Happy following closely behind her to tell the group what Wendy had found, but the train station had made a new rule that banned pets. So, they stood there, waiting for no reason. Natsu was the first one to finally react, and he bolted past Erza and Laxus and up the stairs he saw when he had walked in. Snapping out of their shock induced trance, the three other mages quickly followed suit.

Natsu ran into the room strain ahead and heard Mira trying to comfort a madly sobbing Wendy while Lisanna was making small squeaking noises. Hearing these noises floating out of the master bathroom, he sprinted into the cold room and gasped at the sight that met his madly worried eyes.

Lucy was laying limp on her bath tub floor, her skin black from her right shin down to her pinky toe. Her eyes were wide open, a look of shock and fear frozen on her pale face. He could tell Lisanna had quickly covered her with a towel when she found her because it was covering the appearing to be dead mages body like a blanket. He could see a teary eyed Mira clutching a sobbing Wendy in her arms, a dazed look of shock on her face.

"What the hell…" Gray began cussing as he appeared behind Natsu's left shoulder, his words cut off by a rough choke as he stared at the horrific scene in front of him. Erza and Laxus were there shortly after Gray, both of them frozen in their tracks. However, Erza was the first to break the sob filled silence.

"Alright! Boys! Out! Now!" She barked at the still staring boys. They nodded, fearing what would happen if they disobeyed even though they didn't understand why. They walked out of the crammed bathroom and into the bedroom. Erza shut the cream colored door behind them, leaving them waiting in wonder at what was happening behind that door.

With Erza and the rest of the girls…

Erza walked up to Lucy, a brave face dawning her features despite the tears streaming down her cheek. Bending down, she wrapped the towel tightly but comfortable around the ice cold mage and clipped it with a hair clip she found in a basket on the sink counter. Then, she lifted the dead like mage out of the tub and walked back over to the door. She didn't want the boys to see Lucy's naked body, knowing that would embarrass the living daylights out of her. That was, assuming she was still living. Stepping in front of the scarlet haired mage, Lisanna opened the door quickly so Erza could stride into the bedroom. Mira and Wendy stayed in the pale room though, Wendy still crying too hard to move. She had just discovered her beloved sister unconscious or dead in her bath tub with a mysterious evil blackness eating its way up to Lucy's mid shin. You could say it shook her to her very core, but that was only if you wanted to dumb the intense feeling the blue haired child was feeling. Mira understood as she too had once lost a sister. Here she was, the same thing happening.

Erza walked up to the bed and set Lucy gently down into its warm, fluffy clutches. The boys just started at the red head, knowing there would be hell to pay if they got in her way. Everyone just started at her as she put her two fingers against Lucy's ice cold neck. Even Wendy and Mira were watching, though they both still had tears streaming out of their eyes. Checking for a pulse, Erza couldn't help but feel her heart leap in joy as she felt the steady rhythm of Lucy's life under her fingers.

"She's alive!" She cried out in joy. Everyone then leapt up and rushed around Erza, smiling with joy and relief. In the time Lucy had been gone, they hadn't truly thought of what they would feel if she died. Now, here they were, experiencing the soul cutting sadness at the thought of her passing and then the heart pounding joy at the announcement that their friend was alive. There was one thing that all of team Natsu realized then. They loved Lucy, even though they had hated her once. Or at least, they though they hated her. But that was the past, and now that the future was unfurling before them they saw how things needed to change.

"Lucy!" Wendy cried out in joy as Lucy's fingers twitched.

"W-Wendy?" Lucy mumbled, her eyes opening ever so slightly in hope to see her beloved sister. But why did she hear other voices with the small child?

**Hey guys! Thank for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Also, yes, Happy and Carla are NOT here with the team. Sad, I know, but this is important for the future, trust me! Please leave your thought and comments in the reviews as I love to read them! Updates are going to be staggered with school and everything up and running again. Thanks again for reading, and if you have any story idea's you would like to see written about please tell me! Once this story is done I would love to write another one, and if you guess have something you specifically want to read, please let me know! Love ya!**

**~VampireFluteChick~**


	11. The Truth of Being Broken

**Hey Guys! I hope I'm not updating to slow and that all of you are enjoying the story so far. I, myself, am happy with where it is going so far. I hope I'm uploading quickly enough. I'm writing these as I go so I can include some of your opinions in my writing, and so I spend about three to five hours on my laptop writing and listening to Celtic music (my favorite!...don't judge me) So, I hope you enjoy this chapter and my one shot if I actually, you know, write one…If you guys have any ideas, please let me know! I'll write as many idea's as I can if I do read any in the reviews! **

**I haven't done this in a while…I do not own Fairy Tail, nor have I ever owned Fairy Tail! **

**Chapter 11: The Truth of Being Broken **

_Recap:_

_Erza walked up to the bed and set Lucy gently down into its warm, fluffy clutches. The boys just started at the red head, knowing there would be hell to pay if they got in her way. Everyone just started at her as she put her two fingers against Lucy's ice cold neck. Even Wendy and Mira were watching, though they both still had tears streaming out of their eyes. Checking for a pulse, Erza couldn't help but feel her heart leap in joy as she felt the steady rhythm of Lucy's life under her fingers. _

_ "She's alive!" She cried out in joy. Everyone then leapt up and rushed around Erza, smiling with joy and relief. In the time Lucy had been gone, they hadn't truly thought of what they would feel if she died. Now, here they were, experiencing the soul cutting sadness at the thought of her passing and then the heart pounding joy at the announcement that their friend was alive. There was one thing that all of team Natsu realized then. They loved Lucy, even though they had hated her once. Or at least, they though they hated her. But that was the past, and now that the future was unfurling before them they saw how things needed to change. _

_ "Lucy!" Wendy cried out in joy as Lucy's fingers twitched. _

_ "W-Wendy?" Lucy mumbled, her eyes opening ever so slightly in hope to see her beloved sister. But why did she hear other voices with the small child? _

Present:

Lucy continued to open her eyes until she was fully able to see the commotion occurring around her. The second she saw her old team her hands flew up to her face in a defensive position. Natsu frowned. _What the hell is she doing?! _He thought wildly in his head. She looked like she was getting ready for an attack or something…he suddenly understood what was going on, and a little piece of his heart broke. Okay, maybe it wasn't just a little break. Maybe it was more like an explosion of tiny glass shards tearing his insides into a bloody painting of pain. Lucy was his best friend even though he forgot about that those weeks ago, and now here she was, protecting herself from him.

"Lucy, it's alright. Look, they're with me." Wendy cooed softly, pulling Lucy's arms away from the shocked blond mages face. Her chocolate eyes glistened with…fear. Another guilty pang punched Natsu strait in the gut, and he could see the realization dawning on the rest of the original team Natsu. Erza looked like she was going to stab herself, and Gray wore an expression of understanding so painful Natsu could only imagine what is best friend was feeling. Lisanna and Mira just stood behind the small Wendy, staring at their sister with love filled tears dripping down their cheeks. They had been so afraid, and now they had to witness the permanent damage those months of hatred inflicted on their best friend like a gruesome play. Thanks to how horrible Team Natsu had treated Lucy, the second she saw them she moved into a defective stance. She now had an instinct to _protect _herself the second her untrusting eyes rested on them. Before those months, if she had woken up from a terrifying situation to see their faces she would have smiled and allowed them to comfort her. That image was shattered now though. It was as broken as she was. In all that seemingly endless time Natsu had known the beautiful mage, he had never had the urge to describe her as broken, but now that was the only word that could fit her in every which way.

"Lucy, look at me. It's alright. No one is going to hurt you. We're here to help you." Wendy continued as Lucy finally took her arms away from her face. She finally focused in on her little sister and nodded unsurely. She didn't even look at her old team.

"W-what about _them_? What about _him_?" The newly conscious mage asked in a shaky, hoarse voice. Just how long had she been passed out in that freezing cold room, soaking wet with something vile spreading up her leg? The question entered Natsu's mind, but he quickly dismissed it. That didn't matter right now. What did matter was the hate filled glare Lucy was shooting at him. The rest of the team she ignored. It was him that she wanted to punish.

"It's okay Lucy. Everything is okay now. He came down here so he could talk to you. That's why we're all here. To talk to you." Wend continued speaking in her soft, melodious voice. Hesitantly, Lucy pulled her glare away from Natsu and replaced it with a look of utter trust as she nodded to Wendy with a small hiccup.

"Alright, that seems reasonable. To talk." Lucy agreed, her three sisters smiling brightly down at her. Natsu couldn't help but feel a rather bold blaze of fire roaring up inside him, its familiar presence stronger than he could ever recall it being. "But once that's done, I get to call the shot on what happens next." Lucy continued, a clear warning in her still cracked throat. The blaze kept burning inside the pink haired mage, maybe a little less surely though.

"Deal. Why don't you get dressed now? We'll be down in the kitchen when you're ready to talk." Wendy agreed, seemingly to be the only person who Lucy was responding to kindly. She hadn't spoken a single word to anyone else. Not even her two other sisters. Suddenly, Lucy's face cracked into a shattered portrait of sorrow. She sat up quickly as her hand shot out and grabbed Wendy's shoulder as tears began falling rapidly form her cheeks. Normally she would have scolded herself for looking so weak in front of her old team, but right now that didn't matter. All that mattered was her little sister who had a pure look of love on her face. Her strong little sister who had stuck with her though all the horror Fairy Tail had put her through. Her amazing little sister who had given her one of the most amazing gifts anyone had ever given her. Her sweet little sister who had given her a tea set.

"We-Wendy, I am _so _sorry!" Lucy screamed out in pain filled sadness. Wendy just stared at the blond mage in shock ad concern, just as everyone else was doing.

"W-what for?" Wendy asked, her shaky voice trying to stay calm and steady. Lucy just began sobbing harder as she covered her face with her hands.

"I am so, so sorry Wendy! I'm so sorry…" Was all she replied. She said this over and over again in a guilty whisper.

"Lucy, what is it?" Wendy finally said boldly, her voice edged in sophisticated gentleness. Lucy didn't react much to it though. She kept crying and covering her face in shame.

"T-the tea set…I l-lost control…I was just so angry…the ashes…. Wendy, please forgive me!" The crying girl sreamed out as she tried to sputter out an explanation as to why she was crying. Natsu, Erza, Gray, and Laxus just stared at her, not understanding a word. However, Lisanna, Mira, and Wendy seemed to know _exactly _what Lucy was talking about.

"Oh Lucy. What has happened to you?" Mira asked in her motherly voice as she hugged the still sobbing blond mage. Lisanna and Wendy quickly joined in the hug, leaving the other four people feeling awkward, like they were intruding on something important. But by the looks on the girls faces, this was very important. Finally, after a full two minutes of hugging the three sisters pulled away from the still hiccupping Lucy and spoke to her gently.

"Come on, let's get you dresses now shall we?" Mira said first, pulling Lucy's blanket over the still shaking mages shoulders. Her towel had held securely throughout the whole scene, but it wasn't nearly warm enough.

"Yeah, and I'll go down and start cooking something hot for us to eat." Lisanna offered, giving Lucy a small hug before ushering the other four people of the team out the door and down into the kitchen.

"I'll help you pick out a nice, warm outfit." Wendy finished as she headed over to Lucy's large closet and began thumbing through the articles of clothing Lucy's owned. While she did this Mira helped the shaking mage stand and guided her to the bathroom. After handing Lucy a bra and a pair of underwear the white haired woman softly closed the door behind the blond in order to give her some privacy to change out of her towel. Once that was done, Lucy's hobbled out of the still cold room and sat back down on her bed. Mira gently wrapped the cold mage in the bed blanket and sat across from her.

"What happened when you passed out?" Mira asked lightly, trying to find answers as to what had happened to her beloved sister. In the background of the blooming conversation Wendy was pulling warm clothing from the stuffed closet.

"I was sitting in my bath, thinking about how hot the water was when I saw the blackness. It was only on my toes when I first saw it. I started to drain my bath and stood up. Then, I began getting shaky and the room went spinning around me. That's when I fell. The last thing I saw was the black crawling up my leg." Lucy replied softly. "I know what it is." She added after deliberating if she should tell the comforting woman in front of her. Deciding it was time she finally told some one, she wanted it to be someone she trusted with her life.

Wendy froze and Mira stared at her in shock.

"Y-you know what it is?" Mira asked, Wendy listening intently a she carried the bundle of clothing in her arms over to Lucy.

"Y-yeah. It's the magical energy from my dark magic. I-it's been spiraling out of control since I left the guild." Lucy continued, looking at the two of her three closets friends, waiting for their reactions. However, they just waited for het to continue speaking. "The first time it did this I was on a mission with Team Natsu about two months before I was kicked off the team. It covered all my toes. But then when we got back to the guild, it was gone."

There, it was out in the open. The _still _shaking mage just waited for the cries of outrage and surprise as she stared at her wide eyed friends. The cries never came though. They just nodded, and dropped the subject clearly seeing how uncomfortable it made their friend. Well, after once quick question.

"Would you feel alright telling everyone downstairs about this?" Mira asked gently. Lucy froze. Her breath went still and her eyes were deep in thought.

"I-I guess they have a right to know…" She finally replied in a daze. Knowing she was at the breaking point, Mira didn't ask any other questions. Instead, she turned to Wendy and smiled lightly.

"So, what lovely selection have you brought out for us today?" She asked in a fake French accent making every one, including herself, laugh. Every time the girls went out shopping they would try on absurdly highly priced gowns that looked like they belonged in a zoo due to how odd they looked, and they would strut around the changing room like a bunch of models. They each took turns "modeling" and had the other girls acting as the announcers. They each chose their own accent, and Mira's was French.

"Well, you see, I have a pair of elegant sweat pants that where sewn from only the rarest fabric in all of the world. The melon sweater topping it was hand knitted in Yin City by a highly praised monk, and then it was shipped over to its sister city across the globe, Yang City, to be beaded by a highly renowned mage who could turn the elements into beads. Oh, and _don't _forget about these glamorous tennie-shoes that were worn by the world class actress "_Lady Nialliv" _on a dinner date with her late husband, _"Sir Dellik"._" Wendy replied in a thick British accent.

All three girls burst out into giggled again.

"Gracias." Lucy replied in a bright Mexican accent. The giggles continued for quite a while, and once they finally calmed down Lucy felt happier than she had felt ever since the morning she left the guild. She hadn't even felt this happy talking to her adoptive Father. _Oh! I need to tell them! _Lucy thought happily as she changed into the warm cloths. She was still shivering, but now out of cold and not sadness. After brushing through her snarled hair quickly, the girls headed down the stairs leading into the crammed kitchen. The magnificent smell of homemade soup drifted through the air as the three girls ended their decent on the stairs and began heading towards the kitchen. With a deep, calming breath, Lucy tried to calm her racing heart as she was about to talk with her old team and Laxus. She didn't mind him much as he never talked to her. If it wasn't for team Natsu, she would actually be enjoying this surprise visit.

Her mind as clear as she was going to get it, she walked into the chatting kitchen and sat at her table. Gray, Natsu, Laxus, Mira, and Wendy were already sitting with Erza and Lisanna cooking in the kitchen. They had pulled the spare chairs up from the writing room, and were talking to one another happily. That is, until Lucy sat down. The second she walked into the room everything went quiet as everyone watched her with a mixture of curiosity, concern, and for team Natsu shame. After taking a seat in one of the three remaining chairs, Lucy sighed as she rested her elbows on the table.

"Alright, let's just get this thing started shall we? I know that you guys don't like me, and you probably know that I don't like you very much. But you guys came here, so I think you should start with telling me why." She said, trying to keep the hardness out of her voice for her sister's sakes.

"That's what we wanted to walk to you about Lucy! We don't hate you! We came to put everything behind us!" Natsu replied with his usual grin. Lucy just started at him with wide, unbelieving eyes.

"W-what?" Lucy stuttered.

"You know! We were really mean to you back at the guild, but now everything's alright! We want you to come back!" Natsu declared again, his smile growing bigger. He was leaning on his elbows so much his nose was basically touching Lucy's. Big mistake.

SMACK!

"What the hell do you mean you want me to come back to the guild!? What do you mean you were "mean" to me!? You were damn awful to me is what you were! You were so horrible I began to close myself off from everyone! You were so vile I had arguments with _myself_! I destroyed the tea set from Mira, Wendy, and Lisanna!" Lucy roared as she smacked Natsu off the table and onto the hard floor. Her magical energy was spiraling inside her, a raging storm waiting to break free from the darkest parts of the ocean.

"Lucy!" Gray shouted as she lifted her foot to kick Natsu in the ribs. He was clutching his cheek, not paying attention to the danger he was in. Hearing Grays cry, the angered female stomped her raised foot firmly on the ground and stared at Gray.

"What?" She barked back, her hands folded across her chest as she glared at the boy in front of her.

"Look, I know that was a very bad way to say things, so let's restart. You know how Natsu is." Gray continued, protecting his fallen friend.

"Fine." Lucy spat back in a huff, and then she sat back down in her seat. After helping Natsu up, Gray sat back down as well.

"Alright, here we go. We came because we want to put things in the past. We realize we were horrible to you, Natsu more than any one, and wish for things to go back to the way they were. We're also here because we got a disturbing call from a guard at the Heartfillia mansion." Gray started again. Lucy just cocked a blond eyebrow.

"Yeah? We'll talk about my returning to guild later. What was the call all about, and when did you get it?" Lucy replied, trying to stay calm. Did they seriously think she would come back now? Sure, maybe they have "moved on" but didn't they realize she had a life? That she was free? Did they think she couldn't survive without a guild?

"It's about your dad Lucy." Natsu spoke when he saw no one answering. "Or, well, your adoptive dad."

Lucy froze. _How the hell do they know about that? _She hissed in her head. She just stared at the pink haired idiot, daring him to continue.

"Lucy, Jude is dead." He said with a grim look on his face. It was the same look on everyone else's faces. Well, all but Lucy's. Her face was contorted into one of shock.

"N-no, he's not. I met with him just a couple days ago…" Lucy stuttered. Mira just shook her head.

"I'm sorry Lucy, but a guard name Zander reported his body lying in his office…right after you left your meeting with him…or should we say your real father." Mira replied in a soothing tone. Lucy just shook her head though.

"N-no! That can't be! I haven't met with him yet!" Lucy stuttered, not believing, no, unable, to believe, what her friend was saying.

"Wait, you were planning to meet with him!?" Laxus burst out, his closed eyes snapping open.

"Yes, and I _am _going to meet with him! This Saturday!" Lucy roared back, and then imminently regretted saying anything.

"No." Erza boomed simply as she slammed her fist on the table, making the floor shake. "We cannot permit you to meet with this wretched man!"

"Wretched!? Do you even know what the hell you're talking about!?" Lucy screamed back, standing up out of her chair.

"Yes, I do! Jason dark bright is the strongest dark magic user this world and as well as his own has even known. He is an evil man who will do anything to rule over this world! All he needs is you to complete what I believe is a plan for just that. World domination. He doesn't want to be king of just the Shadow Realm, but of this world as well! And I'll be damned if I'm going to let that happen!" Erza replied in her serious voice. Lucy wasn't going to take that though, and neither was her spiraling magical energy.

"Yeah, and who told you all this!? Master!?" The angered blond mage shot back in anger.

"No. I have heard of this Jason Darkbright on previous S-Class missions. He is known for his cruelty and power, so there are countless legends circling around him. Lucy, you cannot meet with this horrible demon!" Erza shot back, her temper rising. However, Lucy's magical energy was far more powerful than the scarlet haired woman's.

"W-well you can't stop me! I deserve to see my father!" Lucy thundered back. Erza just stared at her.

"You're hiding something." She finally stated plainly.

"W-what do you m-mean?" The blond asked, her temper dying down. "I-I'm not hiding anything."

"Yes, you are." Gray stated as he stood from his own seat. Lisanna was still in the kitchen, mixing the soup and listening to the conversation intently. Wendy was just staring at the two female mages, worried about what was going to come out of their arguing.

"No, I'm not." Lucy tried to reply in a hard voice. Her attempt was in vain though as her soft tones hung in the air.

"Lucy, what's going on?" Natsu asked gently as he rose from his own seat. The blond mage didn't say anything. She took a small step back….

"It's about that black stuff on your leg? Isn't it?"

The words spilled out of his mouth before he even really thought them through. However, seeing as how uncomfortable Lucy looked at his words, he knew he was right. Stepping past Erza and Gray, he calmly approached his broken friend.

"H-how…." The blond whispered to herself. Her head was hung low so he couldn't see her eyes as her bangs were covering them. She had never looked so fragile, and yet so unstable in her entire life. Reaching out slowly, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as worlds spilled out of his mouth. He didn't know how they got there, but he did know they were exactly the right thing he needed.

"Lucy, I know I am not someone you consider a friend, but once you did. Please, just talk to us like we're still in that time where we could tell each other anything. We were best friends. For just this moment, talk to me. Please. I know I hurt you beyond words, and I know you would rather beat the crap out of me than have me here right now. But please." He said in a soft comforting voice. "I'm worried about you Lucy." He added in an almost inaudible whisper. He felt the downcast mage begin to shake under his hand, and knew his words had hit home.

"O-okay…" Lucy agreed in a small voice. Natsu smiled a small, grateful smile as he led his friend back to her chair. After she sat down, she took a deep breath, and then began.

"That black stuff is my dark magical energy. It's been spinning out of control lately. I-I've tried to control it, but no matter what I do it's slipping away from me." She began as she stared blankly into space, focused on something no one else could see. "I-I was doing the dishes one morning and…I was just so...angry. I was so mad at myself….I was arguing with myself and it got out of hand…and I…" Lucy's voice began to shake as her magical energy began humming under her skin dangerously. Her hands were clenched into tight fists and tears began to slip out of her eyes. But she didn't seem to notice. Natsu now knew what she was staring at. She was staring into the memory she was describing to them. "I lost control and accidentally used Light's Destruction and I…I…"

"Yes?" Natsu asked softly, still holding her shoulder.

"I destroyed the tea set." She finished, shaking her head in shame. Wendy stood then along with Mira, and she walked over to were her best friend sat. Lisanna set her spoon on the stove and turned the heat off as she too walked over to Lucy.

"That's what you were trying to tell us this morning, isn't it?" Wendy asked in her soft voice. Lucy just nodded as she began to shake even harder, more tears slipping out of her tightly closed eyes. Her magical energy was raging inside her, taking advantage of her strong emotion.

"Yes, and that is why I need to talk to my father." She whispered. Natsu sighed.

"No, this is the reason why you need to stay away from him." He replied softly. Lucy's head snapped up as she shot out of her seat, forcing Natsu's hand off her shoulder.

"No! NO! None of you understand what is happening to me! None of you know what's going on! NONE OF YOU KNOW THE PAIN THIS IS CAUSING ME! IT'S EATING ME FROM THE INSIDE OUT!" She screamed, now standing in front of the shocked table. Erza stared at her in wide eyes. "NONE OF YOU KNOW A DAMN THING ABOUT ME! YOU KNOW NOTHING!

"EVERYONE MOVE!" Erza shouted as a bright black ball of light shot out of Lucy's mouth, followed by a scream of pain.

_Life is fragile, _

_Just one drop._

_That's all it takes, _

_To make it stop. _

_Beating pulses shall grow still, _

_Blood will pour out against will._

_Life is fragile, _

_So beware. _

_For it can break, _

_Without proper care._


	12. Let the Show Begin

**Hey Guys, thank you so much for reading! It seems like a lot of you guys have asked me this question, so I am taking this opportunity to answer it. Yes, I wrote the poem at the end of the last chapter! I'm so happy you guys liked it! Also, I'm sorry if my updates are coming slow, but finals are coming up and I am very busy with other things. Now, onto the next chapter! Chapter 12: Let the Show Begin **

_Recap:_

"_Yes?" Natsu asked softly, still holding her shoulder. _

_ "I destroyed the tea set." She finished, shaking her head in shame. Wendy stood then along with Mira, and she walked over to were her best friend sat. Lisanna set her spoon on the stove and turned the heat off as she too walked over to Lucy. _

_ "That's what you were trying to tell us this morning, isn't it?" Wendy asked in her soft voice. Lucy just nodded as she began to shake even harder, more tears slipping out of her tightly closed eyes. Her magical energy was raging inside her, taking advantage of her strong emotion. _

_ "Yes, and that is why I need to talk to my father." She whispered. Natsu sighed. _

_ "No, this is the reason why you need to stay away from him." He replied softly. Lucy's head snapped up as she shot out of her seat, forcing Natsu's hand off her shoulder. _

_ "No! NO! None of you understand what is happening to me! None of you know what's going on! NONE OF YOU KNOW THE PAIN THIS IS CAUSING ME! IT'S EATING ME FROM THE INSIDE OUT!" She screamed, now standing in front of the shocked table. Erza stared at her in wide eyes. "NONE OF YOU KNOW A DAMN THING ABOUT ME! YOU KNOW NOTHING! _

_ "EVERYONE MOVE!" Erza shouted as a bright black ball of light shot out of Lucy's mouth, followed by a scream of pain._

Present:

The room was glowing with the soft, deceiving calm as pale white ashes rained down on the badly bruised Team Natsu. They were all pressed tightly against the burned floor or up against a scorched wall. Lucy's once homey kitchen was now reduced to nothing more than a huge hole. You could now see the green forest through the gaping breach, a chilling breeze embracing the room in an icy hug. Natsu was the first to recover as he slowly stepped away from a terrified Wendy. His back was scorched with black blisters. He winced painfully as he turned to face the rest of the recovering team.

"Is everyone alright?" He asked. Gray was the first to respond with a short "yes". He had immediately fallen to the floor when the threateningly light had burst from Lucy's mouth. This proved beneficial in the fact that he had escaped the extremely painful burns Natsu had received as he shielded Wendy. However, there was a considerably long sliver of what that had once been the dining room table sunk painfully through his left calf, and out the other side. It wasn't anything he couldn't heal from, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt like hell.

"I-I'm here." Lisanna stuttered as she peeled herself off the burned wall, her petite form a white shadow on the black wall. She had escaped the blast almost entirely due to the hard shove Mira had given her when Erza yelled out the warning. Her shoulder was slightly burned, and she would be feeling a few bad bruises latter on in the day, but other than that she was fine.

"G-good, same h-here." Mira winced as she too pulled away from the same wall, the back of armor entire back burned black enough to blend in with the wall. Her snow while hair was now a sooty gray, and there was a slim but bleeding cut down her left arm. Lisanna immediately ran to her aid once she saw this, and began working on stopping the bleeding.

"I'm alive." Laxus simply stated, out of breath as he stepped out from behind the practically gone counter. He had the sense to dive behind it, but not before shoving Wendy off to the side, Natsu following closely behind. The blond lightning mage new a little girl of Wendy's size would have been barbequed, Dragon Slayer or not, if she had been caught up in the black mess. Thankfully Natsu had realized that as well.

"And I'm here." Wendy stuttered as she moved over to a now coughing Natsu. He was bent over painfully, his blisters shining horribly in the fading light. As she put her hands on his back he gave a sharp gasp of pain that was followed by a short whimper.

"Her…sah…."

"W-what?" The small dragon slayer asked, her eyes full of tears as Natsu moved away from her hands. It seemed like he was trying to tell her something.

"Ells…hah…." He coughed out again. Everyone was looking at him now. Lisanna had bandaged Mira's wound with a strip of cloth from her shirt, and Gray was sitting on the ground, probing the stick gently.

"What are you talking about flame brain!?" He yelled in irritation. He wasn't in the mood for Natsu's stupidity.

"HER…SAH!" Natsu screamed out, and then fell to the floor, a soft moan escaping his lips. Wendy's eyes widened.

"ERZA!"

Everyone's eyes widened as they searched the room for the scarlet haired mage. Seeing as she wasn't anywhere to be seen, they were left no other option than to look into the center of the room where Erza was standing. Hesitant to look out of fear at what they might find, they finally did it. Their eyes widened as they saw what Natsu was talking about. Because there, in the center of the black ash, was Erza.

She had equipped into a set of armor specific for blocking extremely powerful spells. The armor was clearly destroyed. The shield part of it was completely incinerated, and the rest of the armor was either burned off or welded together and most likely to the hardly breathing mages skin. With her shield failing, it was clear that she had been hit head on, and was not faring well against the impossibly strong magic. She was bleeding profusely out of her side, arms, hands, and chest. There were multiple splinters of wood sticking out of her like a monsters rotting teeth, and her right foot was twisted in an awkward way the team were sure it wasn't supposed to. Wendy was by her side immediately, her hands pressed against the bloody mess of what was once her guild mate Erza Scarlet. The only thing keeping the red haired warrior alive now was death. She was only alive now because she had begun the dying process.

"Hang in there Erza." Mira whimpered as she stared down at the carnage as Wendy quickly went to work. Her Sky magic was amazing, but it was nothing against the ultimate power. Time.

"Just hold in there. I know you can do it." Gray coughed out in a deep voice. Even Laxus was staring at the scene with a pleading expression. Natsu was watching from the floor, happy that he had effectively made it so Wendy hadn't wasted her healing powers on him. He knew she could only do so much, and that Erza was going to be possibly past her limit of magical energy. But she had to try, and he saw the determination on the bluenetts face. _She can do this. _The small voice in his head spoke proudly as he witnessed the scene in front of him unfold. There they all where, watching in anticipation to see what the future held. After five painful minutes, Erza's breathing was steady and her bleeding had stopped. She was till in rough condition, and her foot was surly broken, but she wouldn't die. Wendy gave a small smile at her work, and then gave a small jerk. She was purely running on physical endurance now, using every last ounce of her magical energy. With a sharp gasp she collapsed on top of the red haired mage, Mira and Lisanna crying out in fear and shock. Laxus quickly bent down from where he was standing, and gently scooped up the tiny bluenett into his arms.

"Jason!" Fluso screamed in his grotesque voice as he burst into the sleeping fairy's room. Jason bolted up from his sleep, clearly shocked. He glared darkly at the giddy troll.

"This better be good Fluso…" He threated in a low, menacing voice that would have killed an ordinary mage. However, Fluso was far from ordinary and didn't seemed to notice it.

"I just saw Lucy just hit her friends with one of the best "Lights Destructions" she has ever wielded!" The madly grinning Fluso screeched back in his excited voice. Jason, about to lunge at the ugly man in front of him, stopped his attack and stared at the troll with wide eyes. A smile slowly began creep across his handsome face as his heart swelled with pride and excitement.

"Well done my friend! I knew you're ability to see would be beneficial to this task!" Jason yelled as he leapt out of his bed and approached the proud Fluso.

"T-thank you." He stuttered in awe. Everyone in the evil plan knew Fluso worshiped the ground Jason so much as spat on, and so having earned such a "huge" compliment had nearly sent him over the edge in happiness.

"Do you know what she is doing now?" Jason continued, a plan forming in his head. After seeing what she has done to her precious friends, her heart would be at one of its most vulnerable positions. This is the moment he had been waiting for since her birth. This was the moment the darkness could truly consume her.

"Of course! She is staring in horror at what she did!" Fluso replied proudly. Jason's smile now mutated form its charming glow to an evil, crazed snarl of insanity. Yes! Things were going exactly as planned!

"Fluso, use your puppet magic now! Get her to the location as soon as possible. Kill anyone who tries to stop you." The dark fairy commanded as he flew out of his room, equipping his royal armor as his black mist swirled around him like an obedient pet. His words hung sickly happy in the air as he vanished out of the mansion and to the location he had told Fluso to take Lucy to. The troll smiled, and then sprinted out Jason's bed room doors into the hallway, and then into his own room a few doors down. It was a completely bare square in the house, but that's how he liked it. In order for his magic to be at its best his surroundings needed to be clearly devoid of any distractions. Using the intricate locks made purely for his kind (trolls), he locked himself in his bare work station, and walked into the center of the pitch black room. With a sick smile and heart beating fast, eager for what was to come, he slowly raised him arms into the air and relished the slithering of magical strings threading themselves through his fingers.

"Let the show begin."

"She truly is amazing." Mira whispered with a small smile, pride filling her heart as she looked at the limp Wendy in Laxus's arms. That's when she heard the loud crash. Snapping her head away from the petite form of the young girl, she saw Lucy bolting through the large window in the living room, and into the forest.

"Gray! Stop her!" The white haired woman screamed as she clutched her once again bleeding arm. But that wasn't what was stopping her from going after Lucy herself. No, she could feel her magical energy also bleeding out of her. That magical blast sure did some damage. The rest of her friends were probably too focused on other things to notice, but Lights Destruction not only physically harmed a mage, but magically as well. Mira knew this simply as something she had read about in an ancient book back at the guild. She had never though Lucy could fully master the technique. Then again, she had never thought Lucy could use black magic. _Damn Jason! Damn Shadow Realm! Damn it all!_ She screamed in her head. But that wasn't the only thing stopping her from going after her friends. She was so out of practice in her Demon form any way though that she knew she would only do more harm than good if she went after Lucy herself. The others having heard the crash were all staring at the broken window. Everything seemed to happen in a split second then as all hell broke loose.

Gray darted out of the destroyed kitchen, limping on his wounded leg. Natsu tried to stand in order to follow him, but fell back to the ground, his black blisters digging deep into his back. He could feel the black magic eating away at him. No, this type of injury required special, magical, treatment. Lisanna dashed over to him, trying to ensure him Gray could handle this.

"It will be alright! Even with his leg like that he'll be fine. He is used to fighting you, you know." She said in her soft, sisterly voice as she helped him sit up against one of the remaining walls. Erza was still out, and Mira was too out of practice and secretly suffering to fight. Wendy was still in Lexus's arms and she had to take care of them all. However, Lisanna could clearly see the blond lightning mage itching to join the fight.

"Laxus, go. I can handle Wendy." She said as she stood up and away from Natsu. Laxus just simply nodded as he handed the limp child to the white haired mage, and took off after Gray and Lucy.

With Gray and Lucy...

He had caught her in a clearing deep in the forest. The whole time he ran after her stumbling body his calf screamed in pain. Eventually he had simply frozen the area around the stake which helped to diminish the pain, but he knew it wouldn't last long. As he stepped into the green clearing, he saw that Lucy had stopped, her back to him. Panting, he also noticed that it was as if she hung in the air. It was as if she was suspended off the ground, her feet simply dragging along the forest floor. He leaned against a large boulder, one of the few things making it so it was obviously the clearing wasn't man made.

"What the hell are you doing!?" He screamed at her.

"Gray..." She chuckled, her voice high pitched and crackly. It made the hair on Gray's bare back bristle. That voice wasn't hers. It wasn't natural. It wasn't _human. _ "Want to play a little game!?"

Gray's eyes widened as Lucy spun around, her feet dragging limply on the ground. Her arms were suspended out to her sides like plucked wings, and she hung in the air as if she was a grotesque marionette puppet. Her eyes were black holes as her lips drew back in an evil sneer. Her head snapped back as if it was broken as a psychotic laugh shot from her throat and into the forest scented air.

"W-what the hell is this?!" Gray yelled back at what was clearly not Lucy. The laughter died away as Lucy's head slowly looked up and over at the ice mage, her empty sockets staring at him. The smile was still on her face as her jaw began to move up and down, words spilling out like blood. Literally. With every word she spoke a blast of blood covered her bottom lip and spilled down her shirt, making it look like her chest had been stabbed multiple times.

"This is the game!" The voice cackled. Gray just stared in horror at his friend. He knew this was the work of an externally talented puppet master, and that this was a very dangerous situation for both him, and Lucy.

"Who are you?" He barked, assuming a defensive position. Lucy just continued to stare at him like a broken doll.

"That doesn't matter! All that matters in the game, and the fact that the longer I control this young girl, the less time she has left sane!" The voice cackled back evilly, more blood spilling out of her mouth and onto the forest floor. "So by all means, continue talking!"

Gray scowled, considering his options. After a few seconds, he gave a heavy sigh and looked back up at his blood stained friend. Still in his defensive position, he nodded.

"Fine. How do we play this so called "game"?" He asked. Lucy's arms snapped above her head as she gave a sick twirl, her feet still dangling like they were broken on the ground.

"Yes! Now we can play! It is a very fun, simple game! And there's only one rule!" The voice screeched in its horridly high pitch screech.

"And that rule would be?" Gray asked, ready to attack. Lucy suddenly stopped spinning, and her head dropped down. Her arms hung out to her sides. A strange light began to glow from her face.

"Enjoy the show."

Her head snapped up with a hard jerk, a bright light glowing in her sockets, her eyes no longer their soft chocolate but a piercing rainbow. Before he could even react Gray felt a numbingly painful jolt in his shoulder, and was face to face with the horrible creature that was once Lucy. Her arm was elbow deep in the base of his right shoulder. Gray gave out a sharp gasp as the pain suddenly stabbed at him. He lurched forward sending Lucy's arm deeper into the wound. Her evil laughter rang deafly in his ears.

"Oh, come on now! Don't tell me that will kill you!?" The high pitched voice cackled. Then as suddenly as she had appeared Lucy was standing back in the middle of the clearing where she had just been, a trail of dust following her as her dead feet drug along the ground. Her right arm was completely covered in blood as Gray fell to his knees, eyes wide in shock and pain.

"W-what the h-hell?"

"This isn't any fun! That was just the first act of this magnificent puppet show!" Lucy pouted, her head snapping to the side like her neck was broken. For all Gray knew, it could have been. "I guess I'll just have to fix you up for act two!" She continued. Then she limply raised her bloody arm as if it was being lifted by strings, and a soft light began to glow in the center of her palm. The pain began to ease in Gray's shoulder as the bleeding went from a gushing water fall to a dammed up stream. He looked up at the blond mage, shock clear on his face. Was this the puppet masters plan? To torture him?

"I can see how confused you are! But that's alright! You see, you are the audience for this performance, and the best performances include the audience in the show! So, you will just have to wait and see what this all leads up to until act four!"

Blood poured from Lucy's mouth as the words cracked out of her throat. Getting shakily to his feet, Gray saw that his wound wasn't healed, but simply not bleeding. "Now! Onto act two!"

Assuming his attacking stance, Gray watched as Lucy's blood stained arm fell limply to her side with a loud smack as it bounced off the side of her leg. Her other hand flopped limply as it grasped her wallet of keys. Clutching a glimmering gold one in her slim, twitching fingers, she raised it and righted her head.

"Virgo, if you would."

A bright pink and black puff of smoke burst in front of Lucy as the pink haired maiden appeared. Only something was off about her. The manic laughter flowed from Lucy's mouth once again as Virgo stood in front of her, her sockets empty black holes.

"Behold, the begging of act two!" Lucy screeched in between snatches of her demented cackle as Virgo began to run full speed towards Gray, her body behaving just like Lucy's. A marionett

Zianna could here Fluso's laughter through his door as she walked past his room. Stopping dead in her tracks, she knew imminently what was going on. He never laughed like that unless he was doing the one thing that gave him true joy. Being a puppet master. Running down the hall and into Jason's room, she saw the handsome dark fairy was gone.

"So it's begun." She whispered to herself.

"So it would seem it has." A deep, smooth voice replied from behind her. Turning around, Zianna saw Chaizein standing behind her. They stared heatedly at one another for a second, and then suddenly broke out into smiles at one another.

"I take it we are to assume out positions then?" Zianna asked, her smile twisting into an evil smirk. Chaizein nodded, his own smile growing until his business like domineer was completely gone and replaced with that of a mad mans.

"Yes. Indeed we do." He replied. They both nodded and fled to their respective places. Zianna's was the very last room at the end of the hall. Quickly running inside she gently shut the pure black door and used a black magic seal to lock it. Her nose was greeted with the toxic smells of her glorious creations. The room was completely black, and she began to light candles as she walked around the circular room. Once they were all lit, she began her journey over to where she knew her table was. The room now softly glowing, she stood at her table located in the middle of the room, and looked at the endless amounts of potions and strange ingredients that lay along the sides of it. Then, she stripped out of her tight dress so that she was standing in her underclothes. She need to be able to breath freely for her magic. Then, she reached the center of the table and picked up her deck of cards. The room began to shake slightly as she began placing them face up along the top of the table. They glowed as she woke their deadly magic. With all of the twenty cards face up, Zianna looked at them and smiled as her eyes landed on a specific one.

"Darkness's barrier. Perfect."

She grabbed the card and placed it in the center of the table along the magical lines she hand carved into the fine wood. The card and lines gave off a deep purple glow as their magic took effect. Reaching to her left, Zianna grasped a small, yellow glowing vial. Uncorking the cap with her now claw like nails, she poured its contents along the table, covering the glowing card with one word.

Laxus

"W-what the hell is going on!?" Laxus yelled as a black wall suddenly formed in front of him, blocking his path. He had heard an evil laughter a little while ago, and knew that Gray was most likely caught up in a fight. Pulling his fist back, Laxus punched the wall.

"Ouch! Damn it, that hurt!" A silky voice hissed as Laxus's fist bounced off the black wall.

"Who's there!?" He yelled, moving back away from the mysterious wall. Suddenly a rich laugh swirled in the air and around Laxus.

"Only you dear boy. But don't worry, you won't be lonely for long." The clearly female voice laughed.

"What's going on here?" Laxus asked in his calm voice. The only reply he got was the loud shaking of the forest floor. Thrown off balance, the blond mage fell to the ground.

"Good luck boy!" The female voice rang out again. That's when the black, rotting hand shot out of the ground in front of Laxus's face.

**Hey guys, I hope you enjoyed the chapter. So, the plan has been put into effect and Lucy is quickly falling into darkness. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I am so tired right now, and I promise the next chapter will be longer. It's just that this seemed to be like a good place to leave off even though it's short because if I were to continue this chapter would end up being like, fifteen pages. Oh, and also, that whole evil card magic is completely made up! I am a devout Christian, and do not mean to suggest that I believe in that kind of stuff! It is PURELY FICTIONAL! Well, that's it! I hope you enjoyed it! Thanks for reading! Love ya!**

**~VampireFluteChick~**


	13. The Black Future

**Hey guys, I hope you are enjoying the chapter so far! So, I just want to say this. There will be no character death. Alright, now it's your job to remember that. Also, I am SO tired right now! I spent a whole nigh on a freaking bus and got home at three this morning. I didn't have time to take a nap so if there are mistakes I am so sorry! Please, forgive any errors I make.**

**I haven't done this in a while…I DO NOT OWN FAIRY TAIL! NOR HAVE I EVER! **

**Cool! Now that that's done…Onto the chapter! Chapter 13: Fighting for Something **

_Recap:_

"_Behold, the begging of act two!" Lucy screeched in between snatches of her demented cackle as Virgo began to run full speed towards Gray, her body behaving just like Lucy's. A marionett_

_ Zianna could here Fluso's laughter through his door as she walked past his room. Stopping dead in her tracks, she knew imminently what was going on. He never laughed like that unless he was doing the one thing that gave him true joy. Being a puppet master. Running down the hall and into Jason's room, she saw the handsome dark fairy was gone. _

_ "So it's begun." She whispered to herself. _

_ "So it would seem it has." A deep, smooth voice replied from behind her. Turning around, Zianna saw Chaizein standing behind her. They stared heatedly at one another for a second, and then suddenly broke out into smiles at one another. _

_ "I take it we are to assume out positions then?" Zianna asked, her smile twisting into an evil smirk. Chaizein nodded, his own smile growing until his business like domineer was completely gone and replaced with that of a mad mans. _

_ "Yes. Indeed we do." He replied. They both nodded and fled to their respective places. Zianna's was the very last room at the end of the hall. Quickly running inside she gently shut the pure black door and used a black magic seal to lock it. Her nose was greeted with the toxic smells of her glorious creations. The room was completely black, and she began to light candles as she walked around the circular room. Once they were all lit, she began her journey over to where she knew her table was. The room now softly glowing, she stood at her table located in the middle of the room, and looked at the endless amounts of potions and strange ingredients that lay along the sides of it. Then, she stripped out of her tight dress so that she was standing in her underclothes. She need to be able to breath freely for her magic. Then, she reached the center of the table and picked up her deck of cards. The room began to shake slightly as she began placing them face up along the top of the table. They glowed as she woke their deadly magic. With all of the twenty cards face up, Zianna looked at them and smiled as her eyes landed on a specific one. _

_ "Darkness's barrier. Perfect." _

_ She grabbed the card and placed it in the center of the table along the magical lines she hand carved into the fine wood. The card and lines gave off a deep purple glow as their magic took effect. Reaching to her left, Zianna grasped a small, yellow glowing vial. Uncorking the cap with her now claw like nails, she poured its contents along the table, covering the glowing card with one word. _

_Laxus_

_ "W-what the hell is going on!?" Laxus yelled as a black wall suddenly formed in front of him, blocking his path. He had heard an evil laughter a little while ago, and knew that Gray was most likely caught up in a fight. Pulling his fist back, Laxus punched the wall. _

_ "Ouch! Damn it, that hurt!" A silky voice hissed as Laxus's fist bounced off the black wall. _

_ "Who's there!?" He yelled, moving back away from the mysterious wall. Suddenly a rich laugh swirled in the air and around Laxus. _

_ "Only you dear boy. But don't worry, you won't be lonely for long." The clearly female voice laughed. _

_ "What's going on here?" Laxus asked in his calm voice. The only reply he got was the loud shaking of the forest floor. Thrown off balance, the blond mage fell to the ground. _

_ "Good luck boy!" The female voice rang out again. That's when the black, rotting hand shot out of the ground in front of Laxus's face._

Present with Lisanna, Wendy, Mira, and Erza in the kitchen…

Lisanna gently set the still unconscious Wendy on the plush couch in the living room. She was so…cold. The second Laxus had handed her the corpse like child Lisanna felt something very off about the situation. However, deciding it was just the strange turn of events going to her head, the white haired mage immediately dismissed her worry and decided the tinny bluenett would be fine. However, now seeing her glowing ash colored skin against the dark color of the couch, Lisanna's unease grew once more. Kneeling down softly to her knees, she was now eye level with Wendy's pained face. Stretching her arm out, Lisanna gently placed it on the child's forehead.

"Like ice…"

The murmur escaped her lips like mist, soft and gentle. A fever she could handle, but what did she do when Wendy was a temperature ten degrees colder than Gray's ice magic?

"She's dying, isn't she?" The soft, adult voice spoke gently behind Lisanna. Standing while spinning, the white haired mage almost spun through the open, well broken, window. She heard soft chuckling as her pale eyes rested on her older sister.

"H-how do you know?" She choked out, her throat suddenly dry. Mira just sighed, and walked over to her obviously worried sister. Before she said another word she pulled her into a tight, loving hug. She soon heard the quiet sobs and Lisanna cried onto her shoulder.

"There-there now. It will all be okay. I promise." Mira soother as she gently pet her sisters head in an attempt to comfort the crying girl. She couldn't help but feel her heart wretch inside her as the lie passed through her lips. No, things were most defiantly not going to be okay. However, if you stopped hoping then you already lost the battle. And if there was one think Mira had learned, it was that Wendy was truly and amazing child.

"Al-alright. I think I'm okay now." Lisanna spoke gently as she pulled away from the hug. Her eyes were red from the crying, but she had her bright smile on her face. "You're right. Wendy will be fine. Gray will get Lucy back, Laxus will be able to beat anything that comes our way, and Natsu's going to be so happy to see Lucy okay he'll totally forget his massive burns!" She continued with a joyful tone.

"Uh…sure." Mira replied, still taken back by her sisters' wild imagination. No matter what happened, Natsu was sure going to be one burned torch when he finally gained enough consciousness to register the severity of his burns. But hey, at least they had Wendy to heal him when the bluenett came to.

"Okay, I'm going to go look after Erza and Natsu." Lisanna spoke. Then after a brief hug she walked back into the used-to-be-kitchen. Mira's eyes followed her sisters back, tearful and full of pride. Then she sighed as she turned and faced Wendy's corpse like body. If only Lisanna knew. Taking a light step forward, Mira couldn't help but feel the stabbing pain she was trying to ignore dig deeply into her stomach. With a sharp, quiet gasp she fell onto the couch by Wendy's small feet. Wincing, she couldn't help but chuckle to herself, the dark magic making her mind loose.

"Well, looks like you and I are in the same boat, aren't we Wendy?" She grimaced painfully. However, the still child didn't return a reply. Sighing deeply, Mira forced herself to sit up and lean back against the plush furniture she was resting on. Trying to clutch her stomach and arm at the same time, she couldn't imagine how good it must feel to be unconscious right now, and was happy Wendy wasn't having to experience the immense pain she herself was suffering through. Lucy was getting stronger by the second, and was equally falling into her evil fathers' image, whether she knew it or not.

"G-Gray…Laxus! You have to stop Lucy!" She cried out in a whisper, Lisanna making a small racket in the kitchen, no doubt trying to find the things she needed for a healing salve. Natsu's blisters were growing more severe with each second they went un-tended to. Erza was in a whole world of medical issues all her own. Wincing a little, Mira shifted her position so she see inside the kitchen more. She gave out a small chuckle at what she saw. Lisanna was bustling around a very irritated Natsu like a mad woman, trying to get him to show her back. She was clutching a steaming pot that made a thick sloshing noise every time Natsu spun around in order to avoid her spoon full of thick, bubbling purple liquid. Erza was now awake and laughing lightly to herself at the sight.

"Come on Natsu! If you don't let me put this salve on your blisters they're going to start popping! And once they start popping black, liquid magic will shoot out of them and all over that place, making everyone magically sick!" Lisanna pouted, shoving her spoon dangerously in Natsu's face. The childish boy made a funny face and slapped it out of her hand, covering Erza in the unattractive liquid. However, the red haired mage simply laughed, winced at the pain laughter brought, and then laughed and winced at the same time. Lisanna, completely sick of Natsu's attitude, made her incredibly cute angry face and started yelling at him in her high pitched, sisterly voice.

"You know what! I'm done with this stupid game Natsu!" And then, to everyone's surprise, she tackled Natsu to the ground. Pot still in her hand, she skillfully managed to wrestle Natsu into a choke hold while avoiding spilling her pot of salve. "Erza! Hand me that spoon!" She ordered at the no longer laughing mage. Said mage quickly grabbed the spoon from her chest and handed it to the Lisanna. A grim, determined look on her face, the white haired mage grasped it tightly in her hand and dipped it into the pot.

"Hold still!" She yelled at the squirming Natsu, tightening her hold on him. Seeing how serious she was, the pink haired mage went still in her arms. However, Lisanna forgot to release her choke hold, so he was beginning to look a little pale from lack of oxygen. "Good boy Natsu!" Lisanna beamed as she drew her spoon from the pot, and began to spread the purple liquid on his blisters. Natsu grimaced…as well as Erza. _What is going on in there? _Mira thought in her head. Then her head rocked back as the wretched stench of a thousand rotting plants. Now she understood why Natsu was making such a big fuss.

With Gray and Lucy….

Gray's arms shot out in front of him as Virgo hit him dead on. Her own hands digging into his bare shoulders. The immense speed the spirit had sent them both flying backwards, and then had caused a painful stop when Gray's back hit a nearby tree.

"W-what the hell! Virgo! What are you doing!?" He yelled as Virgo kept pressing him harder and harder against the rough bark of the tree. Lucy's evil laughter filled his ears though as the pink haired spirit dug her claw like nails deep into Gray's flesh as a reply. Eyes wide, trying to find a way out of his situation, Gray noticed two big things that were off about the spirit. One. Her sockets were empty black holes starting straight ahead. Two. Her jaw hung slightly open. Like it was broken…

"So…that's your game…" Gray smirked as he figured out this puppet masters "show". Pulling his hands away from the evil girls shoulders Gray put his hands squarely up against her chest (he had to focus on what he was about to do in order to keep from blushing…)

"Ice Make: Tiger!" He roared with conviction and strength. A large tiger completely made out of solid ice then pounced out the center of his attackers' chest, splitting her unevenly in two. Wooden shards drummed against Gray's skin, Virgo's arms going stiff. With a ferocious roar, Gray's ice tiger lashed out at the wooden corpse that was the spirit, and ripped it into smithereens. The evil laughter ended in a sharp choke as Gray and his created pet approached a very shocked Lucy. Her bloody arm was still thrust out in front of her, her eyes wide in shock at what just happened.

"What? You surprised I figured out your little trick?" Gray sneered, his tiger evaporating from behind him. That little stunt had caused him to use more magical energy than he had planned to use this early in the fight, and had left him unbelievably winded. Or at least more than he would care to admit. Leaning against the same rock as before, he waited for the shocked expressions to flow from Lucy's puppet mouth. However, they didn't come. All that came was a soft, _different, _chuckle.

"No. However, I am surprised that you thought that was the show. Something so simple. Something so…weak. Let me just tell you something you pathetic child! You know nothing of my magic, and you have yet to see anything special!" Lucy screamed out in amusement. Dropping her bloody arm, she just stared at Gray for a second, and then her smile grew into a wider, more rabid one. "But you know what! Because you are so eager to see the true ability of my magic…I'll show it to you! I guess act two wasn't much to your liking, so I'll just have to jump straight into act three!" She continued. And then, raising both of her arms high above her head, her hands flopping deadly with the new motion, and began to raise higher into the air. Trying to catch his breath, Gray decided he would just have to deal with how tired he felt. Damn that Lights Destruction. No doubt that had to do with how winded he felt…it was black magic after all.

"Forests rot! Sky flee! Animals Die! Poison seas!" Lucy cried out in her crackly voice. Gray immediately knew that she was using her Dragon Slayer magic, or rather the puppet master was, and popped into a fighting stance. This, was not going to be good if he didn't either stop it, or dodge it. A brownish light began to pool in the center of Lucy's now solid hands. Gray could feel the immense magical energy swirling around it. With each second that past, the light continued to grow until it was twice the size of Lucy's head. Thunder began to roar and a steady, pelting rain began to sting Gray's skin as the blade like drops made impact. A fast moving wind began to swirl through the forest, whipping the trees into a panicked frenzy. Birds gave out strange, mangled cries that Gray had never heard before. It was now dark, the spell seemingly to hurry the day into night.

"Earths Attack!" Lucy screamed, the loud roar of magical energy rushing in Gray's ears diminishing the crackly voice. He waited to see what was about to happen, and instantly regretted it the moment a solid beam of murky brown light shot at him.

With Lisanna, Wendy, Natsu, Mira, and Erza…

Mira was now sitting next to Erza who was still lying on the ground and watched as her little sister, Lisanna, carefully bandaged Natsu's back. His boils were looking better, but it would still take a magical treatment to completely heal them. However, the salve helped diminish the pain and prevented infection from setting in.

"That wasn't very nice Lisanna!" Natsu wined as Lisanna finished the last bandage. "You almost suffocated me!" Mira and Erza burst out into laughter at this while Lisanna turned bright red out of embarrassment. Natsu was referring to ten minutes earlier when Lisanna had accidentally held Natsu in a choke hold after she told him she would let go. Or, at that's what she said happened. When confronted with nearly killing Natsu she said she hadn't realized she hadn't released him, and that she had no evil intention (other than to put the salve on Natsu's back…) However, Natsu had complained that she was trying to knock him out for being such a poor sport about the salve. Then the two had an intense debate over who was right, the whole time Lisanna's face turning a deep shade of red that rivaled even Erza's rich tones. The whole time Mira and Erza were watching, laughing their lungs off and then wincing at the pain laughter resulted in.

"I told you Natsu! I didn't mean to choke you!" Lisanna squeaked back, her face going pink. However, Natsu just crossed his arms and made his pouty face.

"Liar."

"NATSU!"

"Alright you two, that's enough!" Erza interjected after she finished laughing. Mira nodded in agreement. The two arguing mages just stared at each other with narrowed eyes, and then went back to how they normally acted.

"Good! For a second I thought you two were falling in love!" Mira chuckled. At this both mages turned bright red in embarrassment. Of course Mira wasn't serious though. She knew full well how Natsu felt about Lucy (even though he didn't have the slightest clue…) and that Lisanna wasn't looking for a relationship. Besides, she too must have realized the fire breathers' feelings for the celestial mage. But with that being said, teasing them wasn't any less fun for Mira and Erza who had found a new hobby. Matchmaking.

"Oh, that's right! Natsu loves Lucy Mira, remember?" Erza said in a mock serious tone. Lisanna let out a small breath of relief to be out of the two's crazy matchmaking hobby, and then shot a "sorry" look over to a tomato red Natsu.

"I-I do not! Sh-she's only a f-friend and p-partner!" He stuttered, trying to defend himself against the attack. This was the one fight he wasn't ever able to win though. When it came to love, Mira was the queen and Natsu was a simple town's person.

"Oh really?" Mira mocked with a playful smile.

"Y-yes!" Natsu stammered back. At this the three girls in the room broke out into laughter. He was hopelessly in love, and it was one of the funniest things in the world to see him work through the confusing emotions. Mira was about to taunt him again when a sudden chill ran through her body. Looking out the broken window in the living room, she saw a storm begin to form over the forest with the trees flying about in a frenzy. As the light faded the temperature dropped lower and lower.

"It seems something is forcing the night to come. Followed by this storm." Erza spoke devoid of emotion as she analyzed the situation. Natsu sniffed the air, and made a sickened face.

"The magic smells awful!" He cried out in distain.

"I wonder what's going on." Lisanna stated, confused and worried at the same time.

"Same here." Natsu agreed. He suddenly stood up. "I'm going to check it out." And with that he jumped through the hole in the glass and began running off towards the storm.

"Natsu!" Lisanna screamed out in shock. Then, she too stood up and dropped out the window, her white hair blowing wild in the raging wind. Mira and Erza both stared in shock out the window, watching as their friends were swallowed by the forest.

"We need to go help them!" Erza finally declared, and then with quite a loud cry of pain she jumped to her feet, Mira standing up with her.

"Are you sure? What about Wendy?" She asked as Erza readied herself to jump out the window. They both had limped into the living room, and were now staring lovingly at the still sleeping child.

"She'll be fine. The fight's out there, not in here." Erza assured her once rival. Who would have thought that they would become best friends?

"O-okay." Mira gave in, her voice shaky with worry. Giving Wendy one last look to make sure she truly would be alright, she and Erza jumped slash stumbled out the window and began to limp after their friends as fast as they could. If they were called into a fight they would surly lose. However, that didn't mean they couldn't serve as distractions if need be.

With Laxus in the Black Barrier…

As the hand shot out in front of him fact Laxus quickly stood up and watched the horror in front of him unfold. After the hand followed a long, rotten arm and then the base of a scratched and scarred head. In another minute Laxus was now faced with a rotting, sinister _thing _that may have once been a man. His eyes were missing and his head was nearly falling off his shoulders. The female laughter rang out around him.

"So! Do you like my ex-boyfriend? He was an amazing shadow caster!" Laxus just stared blankly at the _things _in front of him. So, it was once human, but it was clearly dead now, and looked to be that way for quite some time. If this was in fact card magic, then this woman would be a tough opponent. It takes a lot of a magical energy to be able to cast cards from a same distance, but it takes even more to create cards. However, sizing up his opponent, Laxus noted how limply the zombie stood, and that the only thing it had for a weapon was a rusty sword. Sure, he may have been a great shadow caster in life, but right now he was nothing more than a walking corpse. The blond mage doubted the woman would be able to reach the magic her boyfriend once possessed, so it was going to be an easy win for the lightning mage. As Laxus stood there, he watched with a board expression as the zombie raised its arm (quite sluggishly) and grasped the hilt of his rusted blade. Then, with its weapon drawn and pointed at Laxus (more like drooping) the thing began to stumble forward at a not-so-fast speed. Using his magical power to give him a boost in speed, Laxus easily dodged the upright corpse. Then, now behind the rotting being, he gave it a hard kick in the spine. As his foot made impact the torso of the living dead man flew free from its waist. A high pitched screech sounded inside the black barrier, and Laxus guessed it was because he had just defeated one of the woman's cards.

You see, black magic cards works, or Shadow Dealing as it is officially called, is that when a card is defeated a certain amount of damage is inflicted on its caster. So, by Laxus simply snapping the zombie in half and defeating the card he had just inflicted damage on his true opponent. The only way to defeat a Shadow Dealer is to completely destroy all of their cards. As of right now, Zianna had two cards in place. One to bring the dead back to life, and then another that had her ex-boyfriends body key inside. The body key is what allowed her to summon him into the round specifically. However, you can only use each card once per battle, and body key cards can only hold key to one body at a time. Then there is the card that is still in effect. That card would be the Black Barrier. This card is a defensive card and will automatically vanish once magical energy stops flowing into it. When a card vanishes it is the equivalent of having them defeated only no harm is inflicted on the caster. A Shadow Dealers deck typically consists of five 'attack cards', three 'defensive cards,' and then two 'wild cards'. Wild cards are in a category all their own. A wild card can range from 'shuffle cards' to 'R Class cards.' A 'shuffle card' is a card that allows one of the previously destroyed cards back into the still remaining deck. However, the selection of that single card is done by the black magic of the cards themselves and is weaker than it would be if it had been originally casted. 'R Class Cards' are extremely powerful cards. The way that Attack Shadow Dealing cards, or Screams as their called, are rated are on a Class system much like missions and quests on the guild board. An 'N' Scream is the normal standard of card. It is a simple spell with a fair amount of potential to do damage. Most of the few Shadow Dealers decks are composed of these cards. Next there are 'V' Screams. A 'V' scream is an advanced spell that does more damage than an especially strong 'N' cards. Then there are 'R' scream. This is the SS class of missions and the most powerful attack Scream there is. They are extremely hard to come by and do massive amounts of damage. Key Cards and Living Dead cards fit into this category, and so it is clear Zianna has been an advanced Shadow Dealer for quite some time now. Not to mention that she must have an incredible amount of magic energy.

Next are the defensive cards such as Black Barrier, the card being used right now in Laxus and Zianna's fight. These cards are on the same scale as Screams only they have a different name and are obviously used for defensive purposes. These cards are called 'Silents'. Most Shadow Dealer's decks are don't tend to have very many Silents, so it would be fair to assume this woman's deck will be like this as well. However, she has already proven to be in a class all her own when it comes to Black Card Magic, and Laxus knew this was going to be a tough fight.

Once the scream cut off in a sharp, high pitched choke a voice boomed inside the area blocked off by the Black Barrier.

"Damn you! How were you able to defeat him so easily!?" She screamed out in frustration as the zombie's body disappeared in burning black fire. Most likely the same fire was consuming the two cards she had used right now as well. However, Laxus continued his irritatingly calm facial expression and didn't reply. This just upset the woman more than anything. "Oh, so you think you're so great for being able to destroy those Screams?! Well let me tell you that those two are nothing compared to what I have in store! NOTHING!"

A big, black cloud formed overhead and it began pouring. Hard. With each drop that struck Laxus's skin it was like a he had been poked with a needle. What the hell was going on with this damn rain? The woman's evil laughter once again filled the black area, only thing time she sounded less like a sophisticated fighter and more like an insane killer who escaped from her padded cell.

"I bet you're wondering what's going on right now, aren't you!?" She said in a sickly joyful tone. The rain now struck down on Laxus like miniature knives. No, they _were _knives that were slowly growing in size with each second the rain fell. Dodging, the lightning mage couldn't help but begin to panic. How was he supposed to win this? "This is 'Hells Strom' one of my deadliest R Screams!" The woman screamed out, her voice growing horse. Now sweating from such intense dogging, Laxus couldn't help but smirk. So, she was creating a storm? Well, so was Laxus, only his forecast called for a little more lightning…

**Hey Guys! I hope you like the story so far! I wanted to get more done in this chapter than I did, but oh well! There's always next chapter! Please let me know if you have any questions in the reviews or you can always PM me! I love writing and want to make it as enjoyable and clear as possible for you readers! Thanks for reading! Love ya!**

**~VampireFluteChick~ **


	14. The Curtain Falls

**Hey Guys! I'm back and ready to rock! I have to admit that I've been losing my motivation to write some-what, but now I'm back and ready to kick some butt! I also have a new idea for a small story! Like, it might be a one-shot. It'll be a GraLu, something I've never done before and I probably won't have time to write it soon. But any way, here we go! Chapter 14: The Curtain Falls **

_Recap: _

_Once the scream cut off in a sharp, high pitched choke a voice boomed inside the area blocked off by the Black Barrier. _

_ "Damn you! How were you able to defeat him so easily!?" She screamed out in frustration as the zombie's body disappeared in burning black fire. Most likely the same fire was consuming the two cards she had used right now as well. However, Laxus continued his irritatingly calm facial expression and didn't reply. This just upset the woman more than anything. "Oh, so you think you're so great for being able to destroy those Screams?! Well let me tell you that those two are nothing compared to what I have in store! NOTHING!" _

_ A big, black cloud formed overhead and it began pouring. Hard. With each drop that struck Laxus's skin it was like a he had been poked with a needle. What the hell was going on with this damn rain? The woman's evil laughter once again filled the black area, only thing time she sounded less like a sophisticated fighter and more like an insane killer who escaped from her padded cell. _

_ "I bet you're wondering what's going on right now, aren't you!?" She said in a sickly joyful tone. The rain now struck down on Laxus like miniature knives. No, they were knives that were slowly growing in size with each second the rain fell. Dodging, the lightning mage couldn't help but begin to panic. How was he supposed to win this? "This is 'Hells Strom' one of my deadliest R Screams!" The woman screamed out, her voice growing horse. Now sweating from such intense dogging, Laxus couldn't help but smirk. So, she was creating a storm? Well, so was Laxus, only his forecast called for a little more lightning…_

Chapter 14: The Curtain Falls

With Wendy in Lucy's living room…

The bluenett woke a high pitched scream ringing in here years. Sitting up abruptly, her head throbbing and ears ringing she let out a ragged breath. She had heard everything Mira and Lisanna has said, and she felt tears streaming down her face. She knew what she had to do, and she knew she needed to do it before time ran out. Sliding off the comfortable couch, she ran to the broken window and looked up the raging sky. _Its dying…._She thought as she looked at it. She could see that all the black magic that was surly being used right now was killing the sky, and there for weakening her. A loud boom of thundered roared. As it did so, it shook the house.

"I know. I'm coming." Wendy simply spoke, her head held high in determination. Then, knowing exactly what she needed to do, she jumped out the broken window and began to run full sprint into the woods.

_Don't worry Lucy. I'm coming! _

With Gray and Lucy…

The world was glowing with a sick brown color as Gray stood in shock at what had just transpired. As he stood there like a tree rooted to its spot, the light quickly approaching, all he could think of was his failure. He was about to die as he tried to save his fellow team mate from a horrible future that would destroy the world. He was about to die and fail his quest. He was about to die at the hands of his fallen friend.

"Lucy, I'm so sorry I couldn't protect you. I know you are strong enough to beat this. I just wish I could see you when that happens." He spoke in his soft, deep voice as the light drew nearer bringing his death. Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath and prepared himself for what was to come. Nothing was going to stop this, not even one of his ice shields. It was too late to dodge, and there wasn't another person for miles now. The heat of the Earth Blast sent burning tingles up Gray's skin and his nose smelt a foul mixture of smoke and rotting life. As the heat grew more intense Gray knew he was toast. Literally.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING ICE PRINCESS!?"

Gray snapped his eyes open as the loud, anger filled voice registered over the roar of Earths Attack, only to snap them closed as something heavy landed on top of him, shoving him into the ground. He could hear an explosion as the light struck through the forest behind where he used to stand, engulfing everything in a brown, rotting fire. Lucy's laughter could now be heard now that the blast was finished, the high pitched choking noise bleeding out painfully and psychotically. Trees echoed through the emptiness as they fell sick or dead, the wind howled wildly like a pack of wild wolves, and Gay became aware of a sudden wetness of rain. Either it had just started or he had just noticed it, but either way it sure was coming down heavy now. Shifting his weight so he was on his back he found himself staring into the eyes of the one and only hot headed fire dragon slayer.

"NATSU! WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" He screamed out of rage and shock. The pink idiot should be back at the house with the others getting treated. Instead he was here on top of the fuming ice mage. Natsu's fist connected with Grays jaw in a matter of milliseconds as the fire mage glared down at his friends.

"WHY THE HELL ARE YOU YELLING AT ME!?" He yelled back quite ironically. Probing his jaw with his left hand Gray's own right fist landed a direct hit in the center of Natsu's face, making his nose bleed.

"BECAUSE YOU SHOULDEN'T BE HERE!" Gray screamed back as he threw his deadly punch. The force of the blow sent Natsu flying off him and into the newly created debris the blast had created. Landing harshly on an unorganized pile of fallen trees, the pink haired fire mage let out a loud roar of anger as he crashed into the lumber. Standing up, Gray found that his wounds were still semi-healed and that he had a new, large gash across his left arm. He noticed it when he accidentally smeared blood on his face while he was rubbing his jaw. Even in the most serious and dangerous situations he and Natsu could still engage in a fight over something stupid. "AND YOU FREAKING BLED ON ME FLAIM BRAIN!" Gray added as he began stomping over to where Natsu had crash landed. As he approached the large pile of timber he saw the wood suddenly burst into an inferno of raging flames.

"SO WHAT!?" Natsu roared as his shadowy figure rose from inside the blaze. His voice was full of anger which made Gray smirk. _He wants to fight? I'll give him a fight. _He thought to himself with sinister amusement. It was during these stupid and often fights that Gray's evil side came out. The ice mage continued stalking up to the inferno, stopping just a few feet in front of it as he waited for Natsu to emerge out of the blaze. It wasn't long until the flamingly angered dragon slayer stomped up to his friend, his fist alight with deadly rage. "You really wanna go right now?" He sneered through his evil grin. Natsu, too, had an evil side that often made an appearance during one of his and Gray's fights. This fight was no exception. Butting their heads together light fighting dear, they stared each other down, daring the other to make the first move. Being more similar that they would willingly admit, the two young men raised their first at the same time as the first punches were about to be thrown. However, they were both knocked onto their backs before either could take a swing. Lucy was till laughing, and so she was still bleeding. The playfully dangerous tension between Gray and Natsu instantly vanished as they were engaged back into the original fight. Lucy's form half dragged half floated through the fading fog as she approached them, her hands once again by her sides and a wicked smile plastered bloodily across her scratched face. Yet she was still as beautiful as she was a kind person.

"Who's your little friend?" She crooned in a sickly amused voice. Natsu's eyes widened as he heard the vile man's voice projecting from Lucy's lips as blood flew from her mouth. Gray's eyes widened as well, but now for the same reason. His eyes drank in Lucy's image as the new, tiny cuts bled. They covered her arms in millions of splinters. It was as if they were scales made of blood, painfully multiplying with each of her movements. In fact, that might be true. Lucy's puppet master's voice sounded shriller and less full as his question hung in the air. _So, whenever he used Lucy's magic he hurts himself. _Gray thought silently to himself in horror. _This is not good. He's also hurting Lucy each time he uses her magic! _He continued. He knew Lucy would be one banged up woman by the time this battle was over. She had already lost so much blood as it was, and now with these new cuts…_She's not going to last long…_

"I'm Natsu Dragneel! What the hell are you doing to Lucy!?" Natsu roared back as he stood up, swaying slightly due to the intensity of the wind. However, he soon regained his balance and he stared his best friend down.

"I'm simply doing my job in Jason brilliant plan!" Lucy laughed back. Natsu's anger began to skyrocket as he saw the blood fly from Lucy's lips. Gray, however, just stayed on the dead forest floor. He looked deep in thought. Natsu didn't have time to ask him what about though. All he knew was that he needed to kill the jerk who was hurting Lucy. His fist caught fire making Lucy's laughter stop in an awful choke. "And what do we have here?" She asked, still floating creepily above the ground from invisible strings. Her blazing rainbow eyes scanned Natsu over with a look of partly amusement and confusion on her face. "A dragon slayer?" Natsu just stood there, continuing to stare into Lucy's eyes. Suddenly he flew forward, his fist raised high to deliver a painful blow. Lucy just stood there though, her evil smile still on her lips. Watching blankly, it suddenly clicked in Gray's mind what was happening, and he all but managed to tackle Natsu to the ground before the idiot's fist connected with Lucy's stomach.

"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING ICE PRICK!?" Natsu roared as Gray sat on his chest, immobilizing the pink haired mage.

"DON'T YOU GET IT YOU IDIOT!?" Gray screamed back, Lucy's presence making him uneasy behind him. However, he needed Natsu to understand what was really happening. "With each blow the puppet master takes, Lucy's body is harmed! Every time he uses Lucy's magical energy he hurts himself and Lucy!" He screaming at Natsu. However, Natsu just began struggling even more against Gray. Everything Gray said clearly didn't sink into his head, his pink hair acting as a helmet.

"Yeah! So we need to kill this son of a-'' Natsu began. Gray's punch cut him off thought.

"NATSU! IF WE HURT HIM WE HURT LUCY!" Gray screamed violently. As if he had flicked a switch, Natsu immediately quit squirming under his best friend's weight, and stared blankly up at him. He didn't need to say anything though because the look on his face told Gray that the fire mage had understood everything that had just been screamed at him. It was quit between the two then. Gray still sat on Natsu's chest as he panted for breath after he had screamed. Natsu just laid on the ground, numbingly letting everything sink in. Finally, the fiery life blazed back in his eyes as his flaming fist connected with Gray's chest, making said ice mage fly backwards and into the very surprised Lucy.

"Why the hell are you still sitting on top of me!?" He asked as he hopped back onto his feet. His face suddenly showed just how much of a kid he was. "Y-you ARE gay!" He screamed. Gray instantly shot to his feet, somehow losing his pants along the way, and sputtered out his reply.

"We've been over this! I AM NOT GAY!" He boomed, ice flying from his fingertips towards Natsu. Stepping quickly to the left though, he avoided the deadly projectiles and let loose with a blast of fire. With Lucy still behind him, not sure what was going on, Gray quickly ducked so the blast hit Lucy square in the chest (which was rather a large target…) and sending her to the ground once again. However, the two friends/enemies were too absorbed in their own little fight to notice.

"Ice Floor!" Gray casted out in his deep voice. Suddenly the forest floor was covered with a solid three inch sheet of ice. Lucy, who was just now trying to get back to her feet, crashed back down to the ground.

"Eh?!"

That was all Natsu could manage to get out before her had to dodge to the slip ice dagger flying toward his head, making him slip in the process. Watching the pink haired boy sprawled out on the icy ground, Gray began clutching his sides as he began to laugh uncontrollably. There was no way Natsu was going to take that.

"Fire Dragons Claws!" He screamed out in his commanding voice. Gray suddenly became aware of the wall of fire flying towards him and instantly tried to move out of the way. However, still on the ice he had created, the blast hit him strait in the stomach. Flying backwards he took the very confused Lucy with him as he crashed into a big rock that he wind had brought in from the spell Lucy casted. Lucy was the first to hit the rock with Gray flying into to the back of her, shoving her against the rough surface of the rock even more.

"You're going to pay for that!" Gray screamed as he began charging at Natsu leaving the moaning Lucy behind. "Ice make: Bazooka!" He screamed out as Natsu began running towards him as well, his fists raised to his lips as he began a fire dragons roar. Squeezing the trigger the second he saw flames, Gray dug his heals into the dead earth in order to stop himself from being caught up in the explosion that played out before him. The ice blast had hit Natsu right in his fists, therefor plugging up his fire dragon's roar, and there for making an amazing explosion. Smirking, Gray stared at the fiery inferno with satisfaction. _There's no way he could have made it out of that! _

Hey, since when was he flying through the air?

Natsu stood where Gray used to with his fist thrust out in front of him. Gray was indeed flying through the air with the familiar painful burning feeling that came when Natsu punched him, only this time it was ten times as intense. He hadn't even seen Natsu emerge from the flames! What was going on!? Gray's back connected painfully with a partially blazing tree. He made a sort of wheezing sound as all the air in his lungs was forced out of his body. The wind was now gone, but that didn't make catching his breath any easier. _Since when does he hit me that hard in a fight?! _Gray thought sharply as he slowly slid down the tree. Hitting the ground, he sat up against the tree and slowly raised his head so he could see what was going on. His eyes widened at what he saw. Lucy was slowly drifting around Natsu with the puppet master's evil laughter bubbling out of her in the form of blood. Natsu just stood there, frozen with a look of shock on his face.

"So, how do you like act three?" Lucy asked as she faced Gray's direction. He didn't reply though, a glare replacing his look of shock. This act of defiance didn't go unnoticed by his opponent. Thrusting her left hand out, she pointed at Gray with an angry scowl on her face. Her right arm hung limply at her side. Instantly, Natsu flew towards the ice mage with his hands ablaze. Unable to move due to a new series of injuries inflicted by the harsh stop, Gray just sat there helplessly as he prepared for what was about to come. Natsu crashed strait into him, setting the whole tree on fire with both of them trapped in the inferno.

"I repeat. How are you liking act three so far?" Lucy asked, pulling her arm back. Natsu jumped from the flames with Gray slung limply over his back like a sack of flour. The pink haired boy rushed over to Lucy, and dropped the newly wounded ice mage at her feet. As he landed on the ground he let out a harsh cough, blood flying from his mouth and onto his bottom lip and chin. Lucy nodded. "That's answer enough for now." She spoke with a board look on her face. Letting out a deep breath, Natsu suddenly flew back and against the same boulder he had shoved Gray and herself into. He landed with a satisfyingly sick crunch as his back hit the harsh rock.

"And how are _you _liking the show so far, Dragon Slayer?" She asked as Natsu fell from the rock and onto the ground. He had a few scratches, but nothing major like his friend who was still lying on the forest floor and coughing up blood. Natsu got to his feet quickly and stared at his bleeding friend.

"This is the crappiest show I've _ever _seen!" He hissed. Memories of the crazy mission he had embarked on with the old Team Natsu flashed in his head. Erza with her stage fright, Lucy in her dress, Gray and himself wrecking the entire building. He shivered at the memories. Even with his experience in theater, he could honestly say that this puppet master's show seriously sucked. However, that was clearly the wrong answer to his question. Suddenly Lucy had one of her soft, blood soaked hands wrapped around his neck and pinning him up against the rock. Her cold, bright eyes stared into his deep onyx ones with such intensity Natsu could feel the pressure of her stare weighing against his brain.

"_What did you say?" _Lucy hissed between her teeth. When Natsu gave no action to respond the grip she had on his throat tightened. He gave out a short gasp as his lungs began to scream for air. However, he would be damned if he played into this evil man's game. Then, as suddenly as the grip had tightened it was no longer there as Lucy was thrown back by an unknown force. Falling to the ground he began sucking in as much air his lungs would hold. A hand was suddenly shoved in his face.

"Natsu, come on! Get up!"

Natsu's head snapped up as the silky voice registered in his ears. His eyes widened in shock. Lisanna was standing over him, her arm stretched out in front of her. Lifting his own, Natsu firmly grasped her soft hand. Pulling him to his feet, Lisanna smiled at him and threw her arms around him in a hug. Her soft voice whispered lowly in his ear.

"Gray's figured out how to kill him." She began. Natsu immediately stiffened in her arms, but she kept talking as fast as her body would allow her to. "I've been watching this whole time, and told him you and I would serve as a distraction. All we have to do is keep Lucy in the middle of the clearing. Then, Gray will give us the signal. When that happened, use your strongest Fire Dragon Roar you've ever done." She continued.

"But if I do that then I'll hurt Luce." Natsu hissed back, his voice low and quit as well. Lisanna just hugged him tighter.

"Trust me. It'll be all right. Lucy will be fine." And with that she pulled away from the confused pink haired mage and began running full speed towards Lucy. The blond mage was currently lying on the forest floor. She began pushing herself up so she could stand once again. She used her left hand to push herself up, and then moved her right leg so that her foot was firmly on the ground. However, her right arm and left leg just at limply on the muddy ground. With the intense rain still falling, the dead ground was beginning to turn into mud. In the beginning it was absorbing all the rain due to the blast, but now that it was rehydrated all the rain was creating a sea of mud. Now standing unsteadily Lucy glared at Lisanna who was now transformed into her Tiger Empress. She had her claws out and leapt high into the air. Raising her left hand above her head, Lucy closed her eyes and ducked her head slightly as a bright ball of black fire burst from her palm. It flew strait into Lisanna's stomach and made her fly backwards into a tree. Natsu watched the whole thing, and finally realized something. _He's getting weaker the longer he control Lucy! That's why her left arm and right leg aren't working anymore! _Now with a wide smile on his lips, he charged at Lucy's back, his fist raised. However, with all the mud his footstep made loud obnoxious noises as he ran, alerting his target. Spinning around as fast as she could on one leg, said blond pulled her arm down from above her head and thrust it out in front of her. A harsh blast of wind hit Natsu head on, but he wasn't going to be blown back without landing a blow on his friend. Yes, it would hurt her, but with her attackers hold on her slipping it would sure hurt a lot less than if he were to hit her with a fiery fist when he first joined the fight. Letting a blast of fire free from his fist, he let himself be taken back by the intense wind and be smashed into a tree while Lucy was smashed with a blast of fire. Before she could fly back to far though Lisanna was behind her and delivered a hard kick to her back. Now flying forward Lucy landed a few steps in front of where she originally stood. Her golden hair was now streaked with dark mud and blood. Her fair skin was covered with small cuts and large bruises, all of which were bleeding to some extent. Her luscious lips were covered with blood as they parted slightly to let out a low moan. Picking her head up slightly, her rainbow eyes began to fade until they were empty black sockets. The rain suddenly turned into ice and began pelting Natsu harshly, annoying him.

"Damn it Gray! Why ya gotta turn the rain into ice!?" He screamed as he began running towards the fallen Lucy, his hands to his lips as he began forming what was going to be one of his most impressive Fire Dragon Roars ever. Lisanna was sprinting as well, her claws shining dangerously in the moon light. Even though he hadn't used much magic, Natsu felt fatigued and weak. He knew it was because of the Earths Attack Lucy had unleashed when he had saved Gray's behind. The attack was bubbling with black magic. Black magic causes the person who is it with its magical energy to drop almost to half of what it would normally be. So, with that and the injuries from Lucy's first, uncontrolled blast he was running on pure physical determination now. Gray and Lisanna must be feeling the same thing as well._ This roar better to the job because it's the last thing I'm going to be able to do in this fight. _Natsu thought as he felt the flames in the back of his throat aching to break free. Gray, Lisanna, and he were now surround a terrified looking Lucy. Even though her eyes were black holes there was still an obvious feeling of fear in them. At the three leapt to attack, the blonds lips pulled back into an evil sneer as her voice shrieked out something unexpected.

"Enjoy act four!" She snarled. _What the hell!? _Natsu thought. A painful scream filled the air as soon as the sentence was finished but it would have to wait. Letting to eager flames burst from his throat, Natsu performed one of his best Dragon Roars he had even achieved. It wasn't as hard as he thought it would be though. All he thought about was holding Lucy in his arms. Safe, free, and protected. Lisanna let out a warriors scream as she brought her glimmering claws down. They shone purple with magic, leaving a trail of light in the air. An explosion like no other followed as soon as the attacks were delivered, blowing the two back with such force when they landed against the muddy ground Natsu felt something crack in his lower back. Lisanna let out a sharp scream of pain as she splashed into the mud, her hands flying to her right hip. Smoke engulfed them then, but it wasn't enough to hide the blinding rainbow light shining from Lucy. Forcing himself to sit up, Natsu stared in amazement at what was happening in the center of the clearing. Lisanna was watching as well, though she was still lying on her left side. Gray must be somewhere around there watching as well.

Lucy's body shone bright green and pulsed with all the colors in the rainbow. She was lifted high into the air, her blond hair floating eerily around her like she was floating in some sort of liquid. She was facing Natsu and Lisanna's direction so they could witness the gruesome sight. As she rose higher and higher into the air the pulsing became faster and brighter until it was almost blinding to look at her. About to look away due to the intensity of the light, Natsu's face froze with horror as Lucy's eyes snapped open. They shone with Black light streaked with Golden light, and the green surrounding her began to burn away at the hands of a blackness eating away at it. Her jaw abruptly fell all the way open, showing her blood stained teeth, as an ear splitting scream rag through the air. Her arms flung out to her sides like she was waiting to accept a hug. The black had now eaten away almost all of the bright green and pulses of color, and Natsu knew that somewhere the Puppet Master was dying. The only trace of green left was in the center of Lucy's chest. Still screaming, Lucy was no longer rising into the air and her hair was now floating aggressively around her. It was wrapping around tendrils of black magic and weaving itself through the black aura. Suddenly, the pain filled scream cut off with a gruesome choking noise, and then everything was silent. Lucy's jaw snapped shut once again, and there was no longer the green in the center of her chest. No. Instead there was a great big hole the blackness had created. Natsu stared in horror as Lucy hung in the air like an enraged empress, bringing punishment and judgment on her people.

"Lucy…" He called out quietly as he forced himself onto his feet. As soon as the words left his mouth the light in Lucy's eyes turned into pure gold, blowing away all the darkness. Natsu had to cover his eyes at the intensity of the light. He heard a thundering boom and risked pulling his hand away from his eyes. They widened at what he saw.

There Lucy hung in the air, only she was no longer surrounded by black magic. No. Her skin now radiated a mixture of white and gold light. Her hear was no longer caressing the darkness, but now sat around her shoulders in a graceful silk curtain. She was still drenched in blood, but somehow it only added to her sheet beauty. She was still wearing the same clothing, and she was still beat up, but somehow she looked like the queen of the world.

"Lucy…" Natsu said again, only this time in a soft whisper of amazement. Then, as suddenly as the light had appeared there was a white flash as Lucy fell to the ground. Unable to run, Natsu hobbled as fast as he could to her side. Lisanna was still on the ground unmoving. Finally at Lucy's side, Natsu fell to his knees beside his friend and he pulled her into his arms and against his chest. She made a small noise as he did this, and then slowly began to pull out of his embrace. However, he refused to let her go. Not after all this.

"N-Natsu…" She said in a horse whisper. Natsu nodded his head quickly, happy to see his Lucy awake. Something wet suddenly landed on her cheek, and the two looked into each other's eyes. Reaching her hand out slowly, Lucy rubbed away to silent tears Natsu was crying.

"Shhh, it's okay…" She began, but then she erupted into a horrific coughing fit. Blood flew from her mouth and she suddenly looked paler than water under the moonlight.

"Lucy!" Natsu yelled out in concern, stretching his hand out in front of him. He suddenly stopped though when a sharp pain shot through his lower back and throughout his entire body.

"Natsu! T-that others! T-they're dying!" Lucy managed to scream though her coughs. She threw herself out of Natsu's arms and onto the ground. "Go f-find them." She whispered, her hands flying to her chest. However, she was lying on her stomach so Natsu couldn't see how bad she was wounded. Instead Natsu stood up as fast as he dared, but then fell into the mud helplessly. He tried to stand again, but found his attempt to be in vain as he once again crashed into the soft earth. He could barely manage to turn his head as he looked for his friends. After searching the best he could through the darkness he finally saw what must be Gray a few yard away, and Lisanna hadn't moved since the explosion. _Well, what now? I can't move and we're all dying. _Natsu thought bitterly. _Looks like we won't be the hero's today…_

"NATSU!? LUCY?! GRAY?! LISANNA!?" Erza's voice rang out in Natsu's ears and he couldn't help but feel his heart leap for joy.

"Over here!" He spoke as loudly as he could. She must have been close though because Erza came rushing towards his at full speed. She was wearing a beat up looking suit of black and gray armor and clutching a thing, deadly looking sword Natsu never wanted to know the purpose of. She ran up to him and then knelt by his side.

"Natsu, what happened!?" She asked as she scooped his head into her lap. It would have been a lot more comfortable if she hadn't been wearing armor, but Natsu was just glad she was there.

"A lot! But right now we need to get Gray and Lisanna over here too! Lucy says they're dying and she didn't look to good herself." Natsu replied with his trade mark grin. Erza nodded, accepting his brief explanation and jumped to her feet. Natsu expected her to run off to where Lisanna and Gray were, but instead she turned her head to her right and shouted.

"Mira, you get Lisanna and Laxus will take Gray! I have Natsu and will go check on Lucy!" She yelled, surprising Natsu. _So they're here too? _He thought in his head. He knew they had been running after him and Lisanna when he had jumped out the window, but he had just assumed they had turned back when they didn't show up during the fight. Erza then look down at Natsu and smiled, a sign to Natsu that something not so pleasant was going to happen. He was right. Erza dipped down and gathered him (rather uncomfortably…) into her arms. Then, she began to walk over to where she knew Lucy must be. In the few steps it took to reach Lucy the scarlet haired woman (again, not so gently…) down beside the blond and knelt beside her. Then, with as much care as she could muster, Erza stretched her arms out and gently flipped the lightly coughing stellar mage onto her back. Both Natsu and she gasped at what they saw. In the center of Lucy's chest was a dark, bloody hole of black magic. There were little veins connecting to it that were visibly snaking through Lucy's skin, connecting with the blackness at her calf the team had discovered back at the house.

"Oh my Earth Land." Erza said in a hushed, unbelieving voice.

"E-Erza?" Lucy asked, opening her eyes as she finished yet another small coughing fit. Erza smiled down at her and nodded. Lucy then looked over to Natsu in surprise. Using the last bit of strength he had, the pink haired mage sat up and looked at his friend.

"Didn't I tell you to get Gray and Lisanna?" Lucy asked with a teasing smile. Natsu laughed while Erza mumbled something about her being important to when two people walked up to the small group. The first to sit next to Erza was Mira who was clutching a whimpering Lisanna in her arms.

"Guys, this isn't good." The silver haired woman stated as she gently set her little sister down next to a wincing Lucy. "Lisanna is seriously injured. I think she has a broken hip and is suffering from internal bleeding." Natsu's eyes widened as he heard this. He was about ask how Mira could tell when Laxus's voice interrupted him.

"Gray is so banged up I'm surprised he's eyen still alive." He announced as he set an unconscious Gray next to the even more surprised Natsu. He could see the wound from Lucy's table in his best friend's leg and noticed an even larger wound in his shoulder. He was completely drenched in blood that was most likely his and was looking as pale as Lucy.

"We need to get them to Wendy as soon as possible!" Erza declared as she assessed the damage, her voice firm and strong even though she was pan icing on the inside. Even though her team was strong, there were still limits to how much a single person could take.

"How the hell are we going to get them back to the house!? We don't even know where we are!" Laxus shouted as Erza scooped Lucy into her arms. Laxus's sudden outburst made every one freeze. He never raised his voice like that. Never. Taking a closer look at him, Natsu saw that the lightning mage was bleeding from several large gashes and he was no longer wearing his cloak. _Was he in some sort of battle too? _Natsu mentally asked himself. He hadn't seen anything as he ran to save Lucy, but then again he focusing on Lucy's sent as he ran so he wouldn't put it past himself to have missed something. With this in mind, the pink haired boy turned his head so that he could see a silently crying Mira. She had dark circles under her eyes and a few small cuts that would have gone unnoticed unless you looked for them, and once you found them you would notice them everywhere on her fair skin. _There must have been another battle going on while Gray and I were fighting. _Natsu concluded in his tired brain. He was suddenly aware of how tired he was, and how a nice nap would feel really good right now.

"Besides! We all know she can't heal every single one of them! Hell! She wouldn't even make it through one of them without passing out!" Laxus continued to yell, his voice rising with his anger. Mira tried to comfort him.

"I'm sure everything will be fine, Laxus. And I can always treat someone while Wendy is healing someone." She offered in her soft, motherly voice. Laxus just glared at her though.

"Yeah? So you're saying you can heal someone as hurt as Gray and Lucy without magic?" He sneered. Mira began to stutter out an answer but Laxus wasn't done yet. "We don't even know if Wendy is awake yet! And how are we going to get them all back to the house?! Even if we did know the way the three of us who can even walk can't carry them all the way back! There's no way we can get them to Wendy!" He continued, now pacing. Natsu just stared up at him, letting the words sink in. He was right. No matter what they tried, not all of them were going to make it out alive.

"Or I could come to you." A small voice offered. At this everyone's eyes searched the area until they all rested on the small dragon slayer standing in front of them. She was out of breath and panting, and looked to have tripped in the mud a couple of times. But it was how pale she was that worried everyone.

"Wendy! What are you doing out here!?" Mira exclaimed as she ran up to the shaking little girl. Wendy just gave a weak smile. "I needed to get here before time ran out." She replied, and then she looked up at the still stormy sky. "You see? I made it!" She exclaimed. The rest of the group just watched as this took place, not questioning the little girl even though they did find here behavior to be…um…odd…

"Wendy, we need to you to heal them!" Natsu declared in his loud voice. Wendy's head dropped then as she stared at the ground, the rain drumming softly on her head. After what seemed like an eternity of silence the small dragon slayer finally spoke.

"I can't."

"W-what?" Erza asked. She had set Lucy back on the ground as soon as Wendy had appeared, thinking that the small girl could heal their friends.

"I don't have enough magic energy to heal everyone." Wendy clarified, still looking at the ground. "But I know someone who does."

**Ooohhhh! Cliff hanger! I didn't want to do this but it looks like I'm going to have to split this idea into two chapters…again. I originally wanted to be here about two chapters ago but oh well! =D I'm just happy I got this chapter done, and that it's the longest one I've ever written! So, as always, please review and ask any questions you may have or feel free to PM me! Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Love ya! **

**~VampireFluteChick~ **

**Now...a preview!**

**Tick, Tock, Tick, Tock**

**Do you hear the breathing clock? **

**Seconds vanish, minutes gone**

**The ticking is an ominous song. **

**Singing low, pitch off key **

**Time ticking for every one to see. **

**Ticking faster, boarder line **

**The question remains, the answer to find. **

**_What happens to clocks when they run out of time? _ **

**~VampireFluteChick~**


	15. A Missing Star from the Sky

**Hey guys, I'm SO sorry for the late update! I've just been so busy with school and things that I haven't had the time to update! Please forgive me! Thank you to those who have been patient with me, and thank you to those who are knew to my story for continuing to read it up to this point. Thank you so much! I am so sorry! So, here is the new chapter! Chapter 15: A Missing Star From The Sky **

_Review: _

"_Yeah? So you're saying you can heal someone as hurt as Gray and Lucy without magic?" He sneered. Mira began to stutter out an answer but Laxus wasn't done yet. "We don't even know if Wendy is awake yet! And how are we going to get them all back to the house?! Even if we did know the way the three of us who can even walk can't carry them all the way back! There's no way we can get them to Wendy!" He continued, now pacing. Natsu just stared up at him, letting the words sink in. He was right. No matter what they tried, not all of them were going to make it out alive. _

_ "Or I could come to you." A small voice offered. At this everyone's eyes searched the area until they all rested on the small dragon slayer standing in front of them. She was out of breath and panting, and looked to have tripped in the mud a couple of times. But it was how pale she was that worried everyone. _

_ "Wendy! What are you doing out here!?" Mira exclaimed as she ran up to the shaking little girl. Wendy just gave a weak smile. "I needed to get here before time ran out." She replied, and then she looked up at the still stormy sky. "You see? I made it!" She exclaimed. The rest of the group just watched as this took place, not questioning the little girl even though they did find here behavior to be…um…odd…_

_ "Wendy, we need to you to heal them!" Natsu declared in his loud voice. Wendy's head dropped then as she stared at the ground, the rain drumming softly on her head. After what seemed like an eternity of silence the small dragon slayer finally spoke. _

_ "I can't." _

_ "W-what?" Erza asked. She had set Lucy back on the ground as soon as Wendy had appeared, thinking that the small girl could heal their friends. _

_ "I don't have enough magic energy to heal everyone." Wendy clarified, still looking at the ground. "But I know someone who does."_

Present:

All eyes fell to the small dragon slayer as she shivered in the rain, her small voice still hanging in the tense air. Thunder roared and the rain fell like tears of a grieving nation as Erza, Laxus, Mira, Natsu, and Lucy stared at the bluenett with wide eyes. However, as the silence continued to stretch on through time it was Erza's voice to finally ask the question on everyone's minds.

"W-who?"

Wendy responded by taking a few steps forward, and then kneeling beside the dying Lucy. The remaining conscious team members watched intently as the scene in front of them began to unfold. Natsu was especially curios to see what was going to happen. Lucy stared weekly up at Wendy, her once lively brown eyes now dull and blank as her life visibly drained out of her body. It took form in a liquid red that was running out. Pushing her small hands out in front of her, Wendy placed them on top of the bloody mess and closed her eyes. Lucy began to glow a pale blue as the healing began.

"Wendy, what are you doing?" Lucy choked out as she saw the bluenetts body start to take on the unnatural glow as well. With her eyes still shut tightly together Wendy gave a soft reply.

"You're the only one who has enough magical energy to heal our friends."

Lucy just stared at her in confusion. Mira seemed to understand though as a loud gasp escaped her lips. At this she rushed forward in attempt to stop Wendy from her actions. However, as the snow haired woman's pale hand grasped Wendy's shoulder she let out a howl of pain. Yanking her hand back, she examined it to see what had caused her so much pain. She saw that there were little scratches similar to teeth marks imprinted on her now freshly bleeding hand. Natsu's eyes widened as he figured out what Mira had most likely come to understand and began to scream angrily.

"WENDY! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!"

Wendy and Lucy seemed to be in their own world now though as the glowing intensified. However, as Lucy's glow brightened Wendy's dimmed. Natsu began struggling against his wounds to stand when Laxus grabbed his shoulder. Throwing the pink haired dragon slayer to his side, Laxus roared in anger.

"What do you think you're doing moron!?" He stared down angrily at the clearly enraged Natsu. "What the hell is going on!?" Natsu's eyes narrowed dangerously into slits as his eyes began to give off their red burn.

"Wendy's going to sacrifice herself by giving her powers to Lucy!" Mira screamed, tears clouding her vision as she stared helplessly at Wendy and Lucy. Erza and Laxus, having finally been told what was going on, had looks of shock on their faces. After the information sunk in Erza began to scream at Wendy as Natsu had done.

"WENDY! STOP THIS! WE'LL FIND ANOTHER WAY TO HEAL EVERYONE! YOU DON'T NEED TO DO THIS!"

However the small bluenett just continued with her plan, ignoring her friends. Lucy's eyes were wide, but not with shock. It was like she was seeing things she had never dreamed possible. Like she was learning things that were thought to be lost to the world. The once black veins that snaked across her skin where now deep blue, while black ones began appear like cracked glass on Wendy's own skin. Suddenly, the intense glowing seemed to explode into its true potential making the frantic team tear their horrified stares away from the amazing sight. As the light blazed the whole in Lucy's chest vanished, along with her other wounds, leaving nothing but her blood drenched clothing to suggest they were even there in the first place. Her once chocolate eyes were cracked, and the blue glow seeped out of them like light does a broken roof. Still lying on the ground the rain sizzled off her now burning skin in little puffs of steam. Her magical energy was expanding at an alarming rate as their levels shot well out of their normal range. With each passing second her glow became richer and brighter, while Wendys' was visibly fading. With a sharp gasp the child's body shook as a hole ripped open in the center of her chest, blood oozing out grotesquely. Her once soft blue eyes that were so full of love and forgiveness were now solid black. They stared into air coldly, like those of a monsters. The snaking black lines covering her skin pulsed sickly as they fed off her purity and power, claiming her as their next victim. Her soft, water blue hair hung dead around her pale shoulders. With the blood oozing out of the black whole and veins, the steady streams painting elegant designs on her canvas colored skin. With a physically powerful blast from the burning light the group, including Gray and Lisanna, where enveloped in a warm magic. Feeling this, Erza, Laxus, Mira, and Natsu opened their eyes and watched the unimaginable happen in front of them. Lucy was standing, fully healed and glowing. Her eyes were closed and her hair hovered around her shoulders in a magical wind. Her magical energy shot past what anyone had ever experienced, and it washed off her in waves, just waiting to be released. Natsu stood uneasily, and stared at her in a mixture of awe and horror.

"Lucy?" He whispered. As his voice hung suspended in the air, the Celestial Mages eyes snapped open, revealing their cold beauty. They were a sharp blue the color of ice with deep blue iris staring at the shocked mages with a blank expression. She just stood there, watching them, as if something else was taking place. Suddenly a small shadow stepped out from behind her glowing form. Unsure of what the things was at first, the team looked closely at the shadowy figure. Their hearts sank as they realized it was their beloved Wendy. Smiling at them with her sweet smile, Wendy looked at them with her black eyes as she stood in front of Lucy. Mira was the first to speak.

"Wendy?" She asked in a soft whisper. The shadows smile grew in response, sending tears into Erza's eye.

"What's going on? Why are you doing this? How can you be doing this? Why couldn't we stop you" She asked, the questions spilling out of her mouth as fast as the tears where out of her un-wounded eye. Still smiling, Wendy began her reply.

"I wasn't strong enough to heal all of you. I probably couldn't even make it through healing Gray without passing out! So I knew I needed to do something. I love you all so much that it pained me to know I might lose any of you." She took a small pause to wipe away a shimmering tear from her right eye. It was odd to see her eyes solid black and blank, and it was even more disturbing to see a shadowy tear fall from one of them. "I knew Lucy would be able to heal you all though, if only she had the power to heal like I did. So…I gave it to her. By doing that I gave her all of my magic. That's also the reason why you couldn't stop me. It took Dragon Slayer Magic to do this, and so when you tried to stop me you were physically bit!" She concluded, her smile still coated on her face.

"B-but…" Mira began, however her words were cut off by a choking sound as sobs infiltrated their way into her voice. Wendy looked as though she was about to step away from Lucy to comfort the crying woman, but then looking at the blondes' blank face, decided not to. She did speak though, her voice full of pain and sadness, but also of love.

"I love you all so much, and I know you will stop this Jason Darkbright person from destroying everything. It's what you do. I'm happy I've been able to help out." She finished with a smile, but then it faltered as her figure shimmered slightly. Wincing, you could tell her time was nearing an end. Now there were tears in every one's eyes as they watched one of their team mates turn her shadowy back to them and face Lucy. Throwing her head back, the young child looked up at the still staring mage. Finally breaking, she threw her tiny arms around her big sisters waist and screamed out in pain as she began to vanish slowly.

"I love you Lucy! Please don't forget me!"

Then a blinding flash of white and blue exploded around them as Lucy's hands shot out to her sides and her head snapped up to the sky. All the clouds, all the wind, and all the rain sat in the air, frozen for just a split second as the blue light bit deeply into each member of Team Natsu. Then, with an equally loud and blinding flash everything was back to the way it had been before, only everyone was healed and staring at Lucy. She was still standing, but she no longer held the blue glow in her skin, nor did she bear the deep blue markings or any wounds. Her eyes were once again closed, and they fluttered open like she was waking from a dream. Only it was obvious the dream had been a nightmare by the tears rolling down her cheeks.

"I promise." Her once again rich voice choked out as her chocolate eyes stared at where Wendy had been hugging onto her tightly just seconds before. Even though the rain still fell and the sky was still gray, she could feel that something lovely had been robbed from the world that day, and she knew it had been because of her biological father. Lifting her head, the tears fell onto the already soaked ground as her feet began to shuffle forward. None of them had noticed Wendy's dead body until now. The limp form lay crumped in front of Lucy in the spot where she had first started the spell. Wendy had officially died the second she began transferring her powers to Lucy while she still laid dying on the ground. Stopping at the blood splattered carcass, there was no evidence of the black whole ripping open in the tiny Bluenetts chest or of the black veins that had adorned her pastel skin. Her eyes where their same light blue as they stared blankly up at the black, raging sky. A stale tear slumbered on her right cheek. Falling to her knees, Lucy gathered the little girl into her arms, and began sobbing uncontrollably.

"You always have been one of my heroes." She began as the tears flooded from her eyes and onto Wendy's already damp cloths. "I've always admired you're bravery. You have been able to forgive others when no one else could. You have been able to look past the outside to the glowing embers within. You were able to see with your heart and know right from wrong." She was fighting for her words now as the sobs shook her entire body, the sadness dulling her mind. She was going to say what she needed to though. Wendy deserved at least that. "You didn't deserve to die like this, in a war that was just thrust onto you without any warning. You didn't deserve to see some of the things you've had to see in life. You deserved to live in peace, and instead you were thrown into this mess!" Lucy could feel her voice rising as her emotions began to build. Finally they were too much and she broke. "Wendy, I AM SO SORRY!" She screamed out as she finally couldn't control her emotions anymore. She pulled Wendy close to her chest and began to cry in her hair, desperate for this all to be a horrible nightmare, and for her to wake up at any moment in the hospital room at the guild, Wendy by her side with a pearly tea set and wide smile. But that wasn't going to happen, and Lucy needed to accept that.

"I promise you I will stop him. I will not waste your sacrifice." She whispered gently into Wendy's hair, willing for her little sister to hear her words all the way up in heaven.

Having said what she needed to, Lucy slowly pulled away from Wendy's fragile body, and began stroking her sapphire hair. She could feel her friends watching her, waiting for her to call out to them, but she didn't care. This was her moment. This was _her _time with _her _little sister, and no one was going to change that. So there she sat, just stroking Wendy's soft hair and whispering things under her breath. Wishes, pleas, and memories falling inaudibly from her trembling lips. Finally, after what must have been two minutes of this, Lucy felt a sturdy hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she saw Natsu standing in front of her, his onyx eyes full of despair as they stared into her own chocolate ones. However, his voice remained strong and gentle as he spoke.

"Lucy, it's time to go now."

Nodding, the blonde mage stole one last glance at Wendy before gently sliding the fragile child off her lap, and then setting her softly on the muddy ground. Still gazing at her with pain filled eyes, she slowly lifted her and hand and closed Wendy's eyes still open eyes, making it look as if the tiny girl was simply sleeping. Letting her hand linger for just a second, Lucy's heart wrenched one more time inside her chest before she pulled her hand back to her side. Then, forcing herself to stand, she didn't look at the haunting corpse again as she walked over to her crying friends. Mira and Lisanna were sobbing loudly while Erza's tears fell silently down her cheek. Laxus was even crying silently to himself. Gray just sat on the ground, his own pain and grief not being shown in tears, but in thoughts and feelings. Having reached the group, Lucy fell instantly into Mira and Lisanna's open arms, and together the three mourned. Natsu and Laxus just helped Gray to his feet and waited for the next step. Erza was trying to figure out what that next step was. Finally, after five minutes of contemplating what to do, Erza cleared her throat and turned to face the team as a whole. She could see Wendy's pale corpse behind her teammates as she spoke to them.

"Alright, we need to get moving. As much pain and anguish we are going through right now, we owe it Wendy to push forward." She began, her voice strong and steady. Everyone looked back at her with sad but agreeing eyes, and she continued.

"Mira, Laxus, and Lisanna. I think you three should take Wendy's body back to the guild so she can have a proper ceremony and burial. You also need to tell Master about the attackers." The three nodded in agreement. Erza replied with a nod of her own, and then turned to face the remaining mages. "Good. Lucy, Natsu, Gray, and I will continue on the mission." She finished. The remaining group nodded and Laxus was about to pick Wendy from where she lay when Lucy's choked voice stopped him.

"Wait."

Laxus stopped and looked at the blonde along with the rest of the group. Lucy began walking towards Wendy's body, her face full of controlled emotion as she looked down on the small girl.

"Her death spot deserves to be special." Lucy whispered lowly, then she stuck her arms out in front of her and inhaled deeply. Little green vines began to swirl out of the mud and around Wendy's body. They didn't touch her, and yet they seemed to wrap the child in their beauty. Small green flowers with deep blue and purple petals followed after them and sprung up in the rain. Closing her eyes, Lucy concentrated all her Earth Dragon Slayer Magic on the image she had in her head. Having secured the picture, she exhaled loudly and up sprung a small tree just above Wendy's head. The blossoming flowers circled the bottom of the trunk and the vines twisted up and around the bark and into the branches. Standing at just over four feet tall, it was about the same height as the once living Sky Dragon Slayer. Opening her eyes once again, Lucy walked over the tree and held her palm against the bark.Whatever she thought right now would ring out in the minds of everyone who ever touched this tree, and she knew just exactly what to say.

_Once upon a time there was a thirteen year old girl named Wendy Marvell. From the very start people knew there was something different about her. She wasn't like the rest of us… and they were right. You see, this little girl had a magical power no one else in the world possessed. The power to be brave. She wasn't brave in the way's you may think though. No, she had never been in the front line of a roaring battle, nor had she ever had to decapitate a thousand men with just a rock. Yes, she did feel fear, sometimes more than others. But she was still braver than anyone else in the world because, despite the pain and misery it brings, this little girl was able to see the world with her heart. Even though people are evil and never change she was able to forgive all of them, no matter what they had done. She was able to love everyone, no matter the price. She paid that price at this very spot for on a storming night after a bloody battle, Wendy Marvell died in order to save the ones she loved because she believed they could complete the impossible. So here is where she took her last breath. And here is where we, her friends, stand right now, promising to complete our mission. We will never forget Wendy, and we will never break out promise to her. _

Having finished her initial message, Lucy was about to pull her hand from the smooth bark when she felt something nudge the back of her mind. She knew she would regret it if she left it at this, so she took a deep breath and concentrated deeply. No one would be able to know what she was about to say. It was between her and Wendy.

_Now something just for you Wendy. I promise I will never forget you, and I will never fall into the dark. I promise I will not waste your amazing gift. You will always be in my heart. I love you. _

Then, with her hand still on the bark, she leaned in and kissed just above her fingertips. Magical energy poured into the wood as she finished the spell. Gently pulling her hand from the bark, she looked down at Wendy's body surrounded by the earthly beauty. Sadness threatening to spill over Lucy's cheeks, she turned to face Laxus. Giving him a small nod, Laxus walked past her and stood in front of the little girl. Removing his cloak, it fluttered gently over the small body. Once the brown fabric blanketed the corpse Laxus gently lifted her up and held her quietly in his arms. Mira let out a small whimper and Lisanna looked like she wanted to scream out in sadness. Lucy just felt tired and numb. She knew more pain and tears would come later tonight as the scene played over and over again in her mind, haunting her dreams, but right now she was simply numb to the world. Even with this numb buzz she still didn't think she could handle seeing Wendy's little corpse lying limply in Laxus's arms though. So she joined Natsu, Gray, and Erza in a little group. Lisanna and Mira were at Laxus's sides, the two groups watching one another.

"Good luck." Was all Lisanna could manage to say with the sadness and hopelessness hanging in the air. Erza gave a slight nod, and then the original Team Natsu watched as the three mages in front of them disappear into the night. They continued watching even after the three had wandered far out of their sight. Finally, in an unspoken way, Team Natsu agreed it was time to move on. So, turning their backs to the path their friends had just taken, they began to walk deeper into the forest. It was just them now, the original Team Natsu. But somehow, to Lucy, that only seemed right. They had started this together ever since the arena match, and now they were going to end it together. Yes, the old wounds were still healing, but right now it would be nothing but selfish to focus on them. They were in this together whether they liked it or not, so it would be best not to dwell on it. Besides, Wendy wouldn't want it to be like that, and right now that was reason enough.

***~*In Loving Memory of Wendy Marvell*~***

_**Dancing, Twirling, Twirling, Dancing, **_

_**Up in the air, always prancing. **_

_**Gliding around the clouds with your friends **_

_**Little did you know your time would end. **_

_**Seeing them fall, one at a time **_

_**Hearing their own death bells ready to chime. **_

_**So full of love, so full of light **_

_**You went down to join the fight.**_

_**Falling, Tumbling, Tumbling, Falling, **_

_**Your name the one your friends were calling. **_

_**Knowing what it would cost, you went ahead anyway, **_

_**You saw the tag and yet you were willing to pay.**_

_**Loving dove, why did you go? **_

_**Don't you know we love you so?**_

_**Dying, Sleeping, Sleeping, Dying, **_

_**Up in the air you were flying. **_

_**Away from your friends, unable to stay. **_

_**The world lost something beautiful today. **_

_**We love you Wendy **_

_**~VampireFluteChick~ **_


End file.
